The Guardian
by Makkura Arashi
Summary: "You want that punk to stay with me." His voice was completely void of all emotions and then…"How can you think for a moment that he could stay with me?".Naruto has to be Sasuke's gaurdian, too bad his charge has the hots for him.SemeSasu,older Naru.Yaoi
1. Meeting

A/N: got the idea from this doujinshi I was reading. It was about an age difference between Naruto and Sasuke and suddenly I really wanted to write one with an older Naruto. Don't worry; Sasuke will be seme in this fic. It'll mostly be a SasuNaruSasu.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters! But if I did own Itachi...then I'd be insatiable, and Itachi would not see daylight for a long long time!**

Chapter 1: Meeting

Naruto stretched getting ready for another day of college. Sauntering into the kitchen he made himself some miso ramen and inhaled it. Then he had a quick shower, got into a pair of jeans and an orange T-shirt. His only class today was Business Management. So he was free to do whatever he pleased for the rest of the day. He still had an hour to go, so he sifted through some channels on television. There wasn't anything interesting, except for this one exercise show, which had some really hot women for him to ogle at.

His phone rang, forcing him to tear his eyes away from the eye candy on screen. He answered with a curt 'hello'. Then his eyes widened with surprise. It was an old friend of his mother's. Her name was Tsunade and she sometimes called him to make sure he was ok. She sounded a little desperate.

"Naruto? Listen I need to meet you right away! Are you free anytime today?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head, knowing she couldn't see him. "I have a class in the morning. I'm free after."

"Could you skip it?"

"Um…I'd like to say yes, but I really can't. Iruka sensei will murder me. I haven't been doing to well in that class. Is it really that urgent?" He asked.

"Um…yes…no….meet me for lunch at Ichiraku's. I'll explain everything else there. Please come on time!" Tsunade hung up. Naruto wondered what was going. Tsunade had never sounded this desperate except for the time she needed money to gamble. If this was about her gambling, then he was going to murder her!

Then he went back to the couch and continued to watch the beautiful women, but he wasn't ogling now…his mind was on Tsunade's call. Something told him, that things weren't going to go well. After pondering he stared at his clock and jumped up with a curse. He was late and Iruka would put an axe through him.

* * *

Naruto reached Ichiraku's five minutes late. He rushed in and then ducked as Tsunade's arm swung at him. Then he dodged a bit more, he had had a lot of practice. Finally after a few more minutes of trying to maul him she calmed down.

Naruto then grinned and hugged her. "Tsunade baa-chan! Long time no see….were you avoiding me? I missed you…"

She hugged him back and then moved away to look him over. She hadn't seen him in over a year. Tsunade was a social worker and sometimes worked with the Welfare Associations and stuff like that. She traveled a lot too, to places like water country and Wind country, trying to help the children there.

"Oh, Naruto…you've grown so much! I'm glad you could make it. Come sit down, I have someone I want you to meet." Tsunade steered him to a booth. Naruto looked up and saw a dark haired boy almost as tall as him sitting there, glaring at everyone.

Naruto wondered what this was about. He sat down and eyed the boy wondering if he was supposed to say something. He gave a smile and held out his hand. "Hey, I'm Uzumaki Naruto…who are you?"

Sasuke frowned. He wondered who the hell this guy thought he was, talking like that to him. He gave him an Uchiha death glare and didn't reply. Tsunade hastened to gloss over the obvious rudeness.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke…my brother Nawaki's son. Sasuke, this is my godson Naruto." Tsunade smiled…it was obviously a fake one.

"Adopted."

Tsunade looked at Sasuke. "What?"

"You forgot to say that I'm adopted." Sasuke said with an impassive face.

Tsunade looked a bit taken aback, but nodded. "Yes, Nawaki adopted him. He's a nice kid actually. He's fifteen and goes to Konoha high."

Naruto frowned a bit. He knew Tsunade was stalling. He looked her in the eye. "So what has this got to do with me Baa-chan?"

Tsunade gulped. "Well, you see…um…Nawaki passed away a week back. He's not married you see, so well, I was wondering…um…if Sasuke could stay with you for a while…"

Naruto stared at her. "You want that punk to stay with me." His voice was completely void of all emotions and then… "How can you think for a moment that he could stay with _me_?"

Tsunade sighed. "Uh…Sasuke could you please go place our orders… Naruto will have miso pork ramen and you can get yourself whatever you want." The boy just stood up and walked away. Then she turned to Naruto.

"Look Naruto, Sasuke's had a hard life. His older brother killed his parents before killing himself and Sasuke was carted from hospital to half a dozen foster families. They all sent him back and Nawaki was the only one who took him in." Tsunade's eyes teared up. "Please Naruto…you're a lot like Nawaki…and I miss my brother, the least I could do is see that his son has a good home. You can help the kid."

Naruto glared at her. "Look I know you're all cut up about Nawaki's death, but I'm only nineteen. I can't take care of him, much less become his guardian! What makes you so sure I can help him? Why can't you take care of him?"

Tsunade wiped her tears and looked at Naruto a pleading expression in them. "Look I would love to, but we don't get along too well and I've just gotten a job with a university in water country…they want me to travel to a lot of different places in a lot of other countries. It would disrupt Sasuke's schooling. Please Naruto…do this as a favor to me ok?"

Naruto sighed. "Look baa-chan…I cant be his legal guardian right? I'm too young. And well I don't think we'd get along either…"

Tsunade shook her head. "You can become his legal guardian until he reaches the age of eighteen. Konoha's law states that anyone above the age of eighteen can adopt as long as they have the finances. And we both know that you do have a lot of money…don't argue…I used to be one of your trustees. You just have to make sure; he eats, sleeps, does homework and gets some attention. And in three years he'll be gone."

"Three years is a long time! I have to study too. What about pocket money and all…Tsunade I don't know a thing about caring for kids!" Naruto protested. He liked his life the way it was. He didn't need someone else…especially someone so much younger messing it up!

Tsunade glared at him. "Look he's got his own trust fund, so you could give him money from that. the Uchiha's were not poor…quite the opposite. Please Naruto, help bring some happiness into his life…he's such a broody, angry person. You can help change that I know you can!"

Naruto looked at the boy, who was waiting at the counter, knowing they were talking about him. Those obsidian eyes had a defiant expression, almost like Sasuke knew Naruto wouldn't want him. But somewhere in there Naruto saw just a tiny bit of hope. He sighed, he really could do without a bratty kid in the house, but then he couldn't say no without feeling guilty either.

"Fine I'll do it. You better hope I won't be dead in three years or something. It'll be your fault." Naruto grumbled.

Tsunade smiled and hugged him. "I knew it. Look here's your ramen." Then she looked at Sasuke who had sat down with some onigiri. "Sasuke, you'll be staying with Naruto from now on. He's going to be your guardian. I'm sure you guys will get along very well."

* * *

A/N: that' all…I know it's a short chapter but this is a tester. Depending on how well this does, I'll write a lot longer chapters. Please don't forget to review! Ja ne! and updates will be as quick as poss, as i am dying with college work!

Taka


	2. Understanding

Chapter 2:

The drive home was silent, neither knowing what to say nor wanting to speak to each other. To Naruto it was clear that Tsunade had known he would agree, when the blonde had dropped Sasuke's luggage (two big suitcases) in front of him and assured him that some of Sasuke's other stuff would be delivered soon.

To Sasuke it was painfully clear that Naruto didn't really want him but had accepted Tsunade's proposal out of _pity_. Sasuke didn't want anyone's pity…he just wanted their understanding. No one, not even his foster dad Nawaki had understood him well. And here was some idiotic college kid who _pitied_ him, and was to be his guardian. Sasuke glared out of the window.

Naruto glanced at the kid and turned his eyes back to the road. He wondered how he could handle this kid…God knew he had a sickening childhood himself and it was sheer will on his part and kindness on Tsunade and Jiraiya's part that he had managed not to become a nutcase. How Tsunade thought that he would be good for the Uchiha was a mystery.

They got home in a while. Sasuke hauled one of his suitcases in as Naruto got the bigger one. He looked around once he'd made it into the living room which was past a small lobby. It was painted a light buttercup yellow with orange skirting. The room was furnished tastefully with comfy looking black leather armchairs and a couch. A rectangular coffee table in black metal and glass stood on a black throw down rug. The wall to wall carpeting was fluffy pale yellow. There was an open kitchen with pale cedar wood cabinets and counter…a round dining table of black metal and glass stood a little way from the counter. All in all it was the ultimate bachelor pad, except for the wall colours.

Naruto stretched. Then he gave Sasuke a smile. "Well, this is my home. Welcome to my humble abode. Follow me, if you will, to your room!" he sentence was finished with another idiotic smile and the blond walked off. Sasuke followed him to a nice light blue painted room, with a large teak wood bed and a nice blue comforter on it.

"We'll have to get you a desk and stuff. I'll order it today, so we'll have it by tomorrow. You can do what you like this with this room. My room's opposite…" and with that the blond disappeared.

Sasuke peeked out and saw that Naruto's room was done in almost the same fashion, except it was a darker blue with pale cedar desks and beds and all. Then he went back to his room and started to unpack. He hung all his clothes up in the closet and then lay on his bed. It had taken about two hours to unpack and his underwear was still in the suitcase because Naruto still had to get a set of drawers.

The blond popped his head in. "Oh…you're done. Ok then, why don't you come downstairs? We can decide what you'd like for dinner and then order some. We can get to know each other…um… you can watch TV if you feel like it."

* * *

Sasuke looked at the pictures on the cabinet in the living room. There were some of Naruto when he was young, with who seemed to be his parents. And then there were many pictures of Naruto and his friend, and Tsunade…his parents didn't seem to show up in the rest of the pictures. He turned around to see the blond watching him, an odd look in his eyes.

Then he just grinned again. "What says you, we just order pizza today? I'm not in the mood to cook and well, I don't think you'd want instant ramen. We can get a large one and you can get anything you want on it, except anchovies…that is one fish I can't stand! Here place the order ok?" he handed the phone to Sasuke after dialing along with a menu.

Sasuke nodded. "That's fine." He took the phone and then went through the menu before ordering. He loved pizza with loads of extra cheese, so he got one with mushrooms, chicken, pepperoni and extra, extra cheese. Then he went to see what the blond was doing.

Naruto was sitting on the couch, watching Miss Fire Country! The way he was looking at those girls, made Sasuke role his eyes. All he needed was a pervert being his guardian! He sat down next to the blond, silently but disinterestedly observing the women. He didn't feel anything for them…not even lust. His main need was to have someone who'd get to know him and like him for being himself…no one did that. They fawned over him for his looks and mysteriousness and pretended to understand his pain, just so they could use him for their popularity or get his body.

No, he _had_ been kissed…but it was a by a guy, he had known long ago…one of Nawaki's godsons, who would have been about Naruto's age now. But it was a one time thing. He hadn't felt anything for the boy. The doorbell woke him up some.

Naruto got up and opened the door, thinking it was the pizza guy. Sasuke heard a yell and looked around to see Naruto on the floor with a pink haired limpet attached to him and a few others surrounding them. The girl was screaming something as she shook Naruto, until his head looked like it was going to snap off.

"I've been calling you, you idiot! Why haven't you answered? You forgot that we were going to the movie this afternoon didn't you? Call yourself my boyfriend? How can any boyfriend forget his girlfriend? Was there another girl? We've been dating for a week and you already get another girl? I felt so embarrassed waiting alone and no one showed up! Everyone knew I'd been stood up!" she ranted.

Sasuke wished she'd stop! Her voice was getting on his nerves. She did thankfully when Naruto pried her off of him and rubbed his head. "Sakura-chan, calm down. I didn't go out with another girl…I went to meet my godmother on urgent business. I'm sorry I forgot and I _know_ we've been dating for a week, you told me that yesterday too! And anyway…_why_ would I dump you?"

"Hmph…you know her man…she always think you're out to get her or cheat on her! I haven't seen anyone as insecure as dear Sakura!" that came from a brunette with short hair standing at the doorway, with a white dog.

Sakura punched him really hard. "Shut up, Kiba! You have no say in this! It's between me and Naruto!"

Naruto grinned. "Ok, come on in, guys." Then Naruto looked at Sasuke a little apologetically and licked his lips. "Um…here's someone I'd like you to meet. This is Sasuke…my…um…ward."

"What ward? We're not in a hospital!" came Sakura's shrill voice.

"Sakura, he means that he's Sasuke's guardian." Came a drawl from a pony tailed young man.

"Guardian!" Sakura and Kiba yelled together. Then Kiba stared at Naruto.

"What the hell man? You're still in college! Can _you_ adopt someone? What made you want to get a son?" He cried.

Naruto gestured to the chairs and took his seat next to Sasuke on the couch. Sakura sat next to him, on his left. Naruto sighed. "Well, yes I can adopt. And Sasuke needs a home and I can give him that. Oh yeah…I forgot." He looked at Sasuke.

Then he pointed at the pony tailed guy. "This is Shikamaru, the idiot is Kiba and that's Akamaru his dog, the long haired one is a guy and his name's Neji, that's TenTen and this is my beautiful girlfriend Sakura."

Sasuke grunted, when the doorbell rang again. He took the money from Naruto and paid for the pizza. Taking a few slices he placed them on his plate and informed Naruto that he'd go to his room. He heard Naruto apologizing to the others, the lat sentence he heard was "He's um…not too friendly…"

Sasuke didn't go to school for a few days, he told Naruto he wanted to settle down and that no one would question his absence. He also roamed the neighborhood, while the blond went to class, getting to know the best shortcuts to school and the different places to hang out at…which were many. The only glitches in Sasuke's days were the times when Sakura would come home with Naruto.

The blond had sensed his dislike for her and Sasuke could see that he was making an effort to keep her away, but she hung on anyway. She was always really sweet to him. But Sasuke didn't like the way she looked at him. She invariably ended up staying for dinner and Sasuke invariably ended up eating in his room.

Naruto was quite a good cook…Sasuke was grateful since he couldn't cook a thing and would have hated take out all the time! He liked the place actually and Naruto kept out of his way as much as he could, so it wasn't that bad. As long as he kept by Naruto's rules…which were fairly simple everything was fine.

Have proper meals three times a day.

Get back home before ten.

Call when you're not coming home or going to be late.

Keep your room as clean as you possibly can…cos I can't be bothered to clean up your mess as well as mine!

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he walked back to the house. He wondered what Naruto would be cooking for dinner. He unlocked the door and his nose got assailed by the seductive scent of yummy food. He couldn't help licking his lips and heading in. a shout stopped him.

"I don't care! I can't believe you'd do this to me! And you thought that _I _would cheat on _you_? Just get out will you?" Naruto's voice was loud and harsh.

"It wasn't my fault you idiot! _He _kissed me! I wasn't kissing back! Naruto I love you…I wish you'd believe me! We've been fighting for a whole hour! Quit it!" Sakura was yelling too, her exceptionally shrill voice managing to reach an octave higher!

"From where I saw it, it looked like you were going to swallow his tongue! For the last time get the hell out of here, I don't want to see you anymore, you bitch!"

"Naruto!" then Sakura begun to snivel and then cry. Sasuke could hear some shuffling around and then…"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry. I was just jealous… fine, I believe you…just don't cry. Please…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes…he would never figure out why Naruto liked Sakura so much. She wasn't too nice and well, she was plain annoying. He decided it was safe to go in now and sauntered into the living room, to stop in shock! Naruto was kissing Sakura! Sasuke stared at the disgusting yet somewhat interesting spectacle. It interested him, the way that Naruto's lips moved against Sakura's, but the disgusting fact was that it was Sakura that Naruto was kissing.

It was the blond who noticed Sasuke first. His eyes got impossibly wide and he broke away from Sakura. "Sa…Sasuke…I didn't know you were home! I mean you should have knocked…I'm…I'm sorry!"

The blond looked adorable as he apologized. Sakura gave Sasuke a cool look, no doubt a little miffed that he'd intruded on them. She pursed her lips. "Why don't you go to your room Sasuke-kun? Dinner will be ready soon…Naruto and I need to talk…"

Sasuke smirked. He reveled in making life difficult for the girl…for some reason he hated her with a passion, since day one, even though she had been nice to him. "Actually, I'd rather stay here. I haven't got a TV upstairs and I want to watch something. Konoha is playing against Suna today…I want to watch that match really badly."

Sakura looked like she was going to burst but gave him a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Well, alright Sasuke-kun. Naruto I don't think I'll be staying for dinner tonight…I have to get some assignment done for tomorrow."

Naruto started to protest but she had already walked to the door. He followed her and then gave a slight kiss. "I'm sorry. I promise we'll meet up sometime later ok?" Sakura nodded and left.

Sasuke watched bored. The blond turned to him with a smile. "So shall we watch that match you're talking about? I made you some onigiri, fish and miso soup today. I think I'll stick with ramen…though."

Sasuke felt a weird feeling crop up inside him. It was the first time someone had done something for him, with genuine care and no pity behind it. He nodded, his expression softening. "Why though? Why did you cook just for me? I mean you aren't joining me right…"

Naruto's smile widened. "Well, I don't know…just felt like it I guess. Sakura doesn't like any of this food anyway, so it's just as well that she left. Go clean up and you'll get your dinner."

Half an hour later, Sasuke was found to be sitting with Naruto watching the match. Naruto was vociferous in his cheering and cursing. Sasuke watched him and then gave a small pleased smile when he knew the blond wasn't watching. He liked this camaraderie he felt with this new guardian…maybe they could be friends. Then he turned back to the match as Konoha scored and Naruto jumped up and ran around the sofa! Sasuke shook his head and went back to taking small measured bites of his food.

* * *

A/N: second chapter done. Wow I loved you guys for all the reviews! If you want the link to the doujinshi look for Toshi no sa nante. I don't have the link I got it long back…neways I don't know if I'll make things go fast or slow but I do have a definite plot, but the rest will only come to me as I write. Ja ne pple! Oh and I'll be a little late in uploading due to college, exams and stuff. Oh by the way are any of you having trouble with They aren't sending me my alerts for some reason and refuse to send e-mail verification to any other e-mail I try to change it to. Please help.

Taka


	3. Liking

Chapter 3:

Naruto was pissed. This was fourth time he'd been called to meet the principle of Sasuke's school. The boy had gotten into so many fights, that the teacher had called to talk to him. Sasuke refused to give him any reasons and just stayed shut like a clam. He'd bailed the kid out so many times, that he couldn't help seething with fury.

He parked and walked into the building heading for the principal's room, he'd gotten the way memorized by now, and didn't have to think as he walked. The secretary opened the door for him, and he went in. Sasuke was sitting on a chair looking bad tempered, he had a split lip, a few bruises and a long gash on his right cheek. God only know what other injuries sprinkled his fair torso.

The principal Kuri-san gave him a cold stare. "Uzumaki-san…why don't you take a seat? Uchiha-kun here, refuses to tell me, why he beat four boys up very badly. He has caused two of them to be sent to the hospital. I am sorry, but I'm going have to suspend Uchiha-kun for a week. Maybe he'll learn something eh?"

Naruto hated that condescending tone, which seemed to imply that he was the cause for Sasuke's behavior. He grit his teeth a little to keep it all in inside. "Yes, I'm sorry Kuri-san; I'll talk to him once more. I understand about the suspension and I promise you'll he won't do it again once he comes back."

The principal just nodded…and Naruto concluded he was dismissed and bowed. He made sure that Sasuke followed him out. They walked in silence to the car, Naruto's fists were clenched. He had his own fucking problems; he didn't need Sasuke acting up! He beat back the urge to shake the asinine boy! The drive back home was quick. Naruto slammed the car door and made his way to the front door, Sasuke followed him like a little black shadow.

Once they were inside, Naruto called Kiba. "Hello, Kiba? I think I'll be taking the week off. Please get me the notes and …it has nothing to do with Sasuke. No don't tell Sakura a thing please; I'll talk to her myself. Yeah see ya around."

Then he just sat down on the couch. Sasuke stared at him for a moment, and then sighed. "Why don't you just get over with yelling? I don't have all-day!"

Naruto stared at him. "You want me to yell at you? You fucking _want_ me to yell at you? It's the fourth time! Why don't you just tell me what I'm doing wrong? I have enough on my plate without having to deal with this! Or with you! Fuck it, Sasuke, I want to understand but you're not going to tell me _anything_ are you? You don't want me to understand you, you don't want anyone to fucking understand you! You know why? Because if they did, you couldn't brood about anything! You would have to stop feeling sorry for your pitiful ass!"

Naruto was snarling almost. "You know what…just forget this. I don't want to understand you…hell if I could I wouldn't even have gotten to know you!"

He looked at the hurt that flashed through Sasuke's eyes and sighed. He looked away and walked to his room. "And Sasuke, don't go out today…you're grounded."

* * *

Sasuke stood there like marble as Naruto's words washed over him. He knew the blond was angry, he knew that the blond would never have said those things or else. But they hurt all the same. They hurt more than anything. He had never cared about anything anyone ever said until he saw Naruto's defeated look and heard his angry tirade. He made his way up to his own room throwing himself on the bed.

He wanted to tell him…he wanted to tell Naruto why he had fought today. But he couldn't. He felt that old fear well up inside him, and bit his lip hard. The day's events had bought back his worst memories. He let his mind wander.

(_Past memories_, **present memories**.)

**Kabuto one of the seniors from school sneered at him. Kabuto's gang hated him, they were his biggest rivals. He had been careless today, they had surprised him. Two of them were holding his arms, making him helpless though he tried to break free. Kabuto was staring at him, a weird look in his eyes, Sasuke could categorize it as lust. He knew that look, the look Itachi had given him before…**

**Kabuto had come towards him, slipping a hand into his hair, and stroking his head. "My, my Sasuke-kun…what do we have here? Never thought I'd find you, all helpless. Scary isn't it, the thought of what I could do to you…" **

**Sasuke spat in his face. He kept his arrogant expression, trying to rile Kabuto up. He wasn't going to give in. something was raging inside him, he was trying to keep it shut up. Then Kabuto had slipped his fingers into Sasuke's shirt, letting them run across the hard abs…something snapped. **

**With a howl of rage, Sasuke kicked him. He began to fight not even thinking, about the consequences, as the other memories, took him over…. **

_He was asleep, dreaming of school and the fun he would have there. Suddenly something woke him; he looked up into his brother's dark eyes. "Niisan?"_

"_Hey there, Sasuke…" Itachi's voice sounded weird and there was a sparkle in his eyes. Sasuke couldn't help feeling scared…in all the nine years of his life he hadn't seen, Itachi behave like this. His older brother smiled, slipping his hand into the boy's shirt, letting his fingers glide across the baby soft skin there. _

_Sasuke wiggled, this didn't seem right. "Niisan, what are you doing? Stop it…" but the fingers didn't stop, until they made it to the waist band of his pants. Sasuke's eyes widened as Itachi captured his lips. He felt a sudden burning pain on his thigh, and pulled away in shock. Red blood was flowing from his thigh…Sasuke screamed, trying to get away from his brother who was holding a bloody knife. _

* * *

A scream, had Naruto jump out of his chair, knocking it over. He ran out, looking for the source, it was from Sasuke's room. Naruto opened the door, to see Sasuke scrunched up, into a tiny ball, whimpering. His throat sounded raw. "Niisan, Niisan, don't! Kaasan! Okaaaaaasaaaan!"

Naruto shook the dark haired boy, trying to get him to wake up. He must have dozed off and was having a nightmare. "Sasuke! Wake up!" Naruto almost yelled himself when the boy's eyes opened. They were large with fear and unshed tears.

He looked into Naruto's concerned blue eyes, trying not to cry and to catch his breath. Naruto just pulled him close holding him firmly, stroking his dark hair. Sasuke buried his nose into Naruto's chest, trying to get closer to the warmth. Naruto murmured softly trying to calm him down.

Sasuke pulled away after a while, just lying back on the bed. Naruto stared at him for a few minutes and then reached out taking his hand. "Look I'm sorry I said all that Sasuke. I didn't mean it; all right…I guess I just wanted you to be able to trust me. But I guess I'm pushing it too soon, after all it's only been a month and a half…"

Sasuke wondered why the dude was apologizing to him. He was in the wrong wasn't he? So why would Naruto be all nice to him? He tried to understand what the hell was going on when the blond grinned. "What shall I cook for you?"

Sasuke smirked. "God, you are such a dobe!" Naruto squawked at him angrily. "I'm being nice and that's what you call me?"

Sasuke shook his head. "How about chicken teriyaki, dobe?"

"That's easy! Fine then….and don't call me dobe!" Naruto stomped out.

* * *

Sasuke walked through the store trying to figure out what to pick up. Naruto was in a really good mood, humming as he worked and had asked Sasuke to get the groceries with a very adorable look. Sasuke was also trying to figure out, what the happy feeling was that he got when he was around Naruto. And the great news was that the pink whiner hadn't been around for the past three days.

Sasuke walked to the frozen food isle, and did the last of the shopping, before paying and walking out. He decided to take a short cut and stopped suddenly. It couldn't be…but that pink hair….he frowned. Sakura was leaning against a wall, her tongue moving in an out of this dark haired guy's throat. They broke away and Sakura saw Sasuke glaring at her. She looked a bit flustered and tried to smooth her hair, the dark haired guy was staring at him.

Sasuke wrinkled his nose ion distaste, beginning to walk off, when Sakura came running after him. "Sasuke-kun! How was your day?"

"I don't think you give a shit about my day. And if you're going to ask me not to tell Naruto, then forget it." Sasuke continued to walk.

Sakura glared at him, before smirking. "Do what you want boy…it's not like he'll believe you…"

Sasuke smirked and left. He fumed all the way home and let himself in. Naruto was at the kitchen, he smiled as Sasuke entered, shooting him a thumbs up.

"Good timing Sasuke! Just when I really needed those!" he took the bag from the dark haired boy and turned to the counter, busying himself with removing things and chopping them.

Sasuke helped him, making the salad and garlic bread. He wondered when to bring up Sakura… Naruto just seemed so happy right now. Sasuke didn't want to see him sad. He watched as Naruto moved around the kitchen, noting the way his muscles moved under the wife beater he wore.

Sasuke quelled the urge to reach out and touch the blond. He tried to concentrate on what he was doing, but couldn't help sneaking glances at the blond. A sudden pain in his finger made him gasp and look own. He'd cut his finger as he chopped the vegetable for the salad.

Naruto looked up and frowned. "Sasuke! Are you ok? Let me see that…" he held Sasuke's hand under the sink and reached for the first aid drawer which was right next to the sink. Pulling out a band aid, he taped it around Sasuke's finger.

"You should be more careful…but I shouldn't be one to talk, I've done that so many times!" he gave Sasuke an adorable grin, making Sasuke feel like jumping him. Sasuke nodded and turned back to his job.

Naruto was his _guardian_….he shouldn't have these feelings for him! He shouldn't want to jump him! He shook his head a little, before mixing all the ingredients in with the mayonnaise. Naruto finished cooking and set the table.

They sat down, and began eating slowly. Sasuke bit back a few moans of pleasure, the food was so good. He looked at Naruto who seemed calm and peaceful and decided to bring the subject up.

"Um…Naruto…I, well I saw Sakura-san today…" Sasuke ventured, Naruto looked a little happier at the mention of his girl friends name. Sasuke gulped. "Well she was kissing…kissing this dark haired…"

"Stop. I don't want to hear this ok Sasuke? I don't care what you saw…" Naruto's voice was firm. "Sakura-chan is a good friend of mine and my girlfriend. I don't want to hear anything bad about her…"

Sasuke sighed and went back to eating. Naruto was such a moron, how the hell was he supposed to explain. He let it go and tried to pay attention to the blond's conversation. Naruto seemed deliriously happy, about something or the other.

After lunch they watched some TV, to be more specific, they fought over the remote, because Sasuke stated that he would walk out if Naruto watched anything with scantily clad girls in it. At last they both settled on watching the Konoha vs. Oto tennis match, though Naruto grumbled because they were watching men and not females….nothing he said was better than girls in short tennis skirts running around.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. After three hours of staring non-stop he started to doze. By six, Naruto noticed that he was fast asleep. Smiling the older man, picked the boy up and carried him to his room. It was funny how Sasuke had snuggled into his chest. Carefully lowering Sasuke onto his bed, Naruto bent down to cover the boy and tuck him in.

Suddenly Naruto found two hands in his hair. He looked down at the still sleeping Sasuke, who sighed. "Naruto…" and then before Naruto could react, two soft lips pressed gently against his.

The blond gasped in shock, Sasuke tongue took the opportunity, slipping inside. The kiss on the whole was gentle; Naruto resisted all he could before kissing back softly. Then suddenly the mouth moved away and the hands let go. Sasuke snuggled into his covers, a small smile gracing his lips.

Naruto straightened staring at the boy, before reaching out to brush back the dark hair falling over Sasuke's face. Then he left and closed the door behind him. Naruto leaned back against the door, his fingers coming to rest on his lips as a confused expression flitted across his face. After a few minutes he walked back downstairs.

* * *

A/N: that's it for now. I liked the way the kiss scene went; it was supposed to be like that….I didn't want to rush it. And it's being written from the feelings I felt at one time. Thank you all for being so loyal! I love you, my sweet reviewers!

Taka


	4. Falling or Jerking

A/N: Shit I almost updated my Psych assignment...:sweatdrop: luckily i checked before adding chapter!

Chapter 4:

The rest of that week had passed fast enough. Naruto hadn't mentioned anything to Sasuke about the kiss. He had feeling Sasuke didn't remember. He couldn't help feeling worried that Sasuke didn't have any friends from that school of his. He decided to talk to Sasuke about it. It had been a few weeks since Sasuke had been back at school…he hadn't been caught getting into a fight, but he did come home with a black eye, a split lip or a cut somewhere.

Naruto did try to find out what was wrong, but the boy had clammed up and refused to tell him anything. And much worse…every time there was a fight, a nightmare was sure to follow. Naruto couldn't remember how many times in the past few weeks he had run into the brunette's room to comfort him. Honestly, he was starting to get more than worried…he was desperate for an answer…something…something that could stop Sasuke looking like that.

Sakura visited a lot, but she'd stopped in the last few days. What with classes and Sasuke, Naruto didn't seem to have time for anything else. He was extremely tired out and decided to ask Tsunade to tell him exactly what happened with Sasuke.

This fine evening he was relaxing on the sofa. Sasuke hadn't returned from school yet, mentioning something about having to do a project with some classmate. When Naruto had teased him about whether it was his girlfriend, Sasuke had glared a death glare and left. Naruto smiled…no girl would want that boy, if he treated them like that.

The door bell rang. It was Sakura. She sat down next to him. "So Sweetie, do you like this dress?" she asked him, not bothering to note his too tired face.

He looked her over; it was a nice dress…a red strapless which reached her knees when she stood. He nodded appreciatively. "Yeah…wow, you look really beautiful!" she grinned at that and then her eyes narrowed. She grabbed his collar and yanked him in for a kiss. They snogged for a while and then she began feeling his crotch up when he stopped her.

"I'm sorry Sakura, not today. I'm really wiped out and I have to cook when Sasuke gets home." He sighed and covered his face with his hands.

Sakura stared at him as if wondering how he could turn her down. "Naruto. Baby, what's wrong?"

"Gosh I'm just tired. I'm also worried. Sasuke has been getting into so many fights and I wish he'd just tell me what was wrong so I can help him. He's hurting and I know it! I want to be there for him, but it's becoming really difficult. Sometimes I feel like just skipping college and making sure Sasuke is ok…you get what I mean?" Naruto looked up at her.

"Sasuke is getting to be a nuisance! You should just get rid of him, now! You're not the only one he has, send him back to your godmother or put him in foster care! He's ruining you!" Sakura ground out angrily.

Naruto stared at her. "You can't be serious… you want me to throw him out? Sakura, he's my ward! I can be there for him! Putting him in foster care is so not the solution! I can't believe you suggested that!"

Sakura stood up, glaring at Naruto. She was completely furious. "Ever since that boy came, it's been Sasuke this and Sasuke that! Every time I come to see you it's Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke! You have to cook for Sasuke so you don't have time! You need to look after him, so you don't have time! All I'm asking for is a little bit of time as your _girlfriend_…but no! I hate it! I was here before that maniac, entered your life and now you're pushing me out to make room for that soppy little orphan..."

Naruto looked shocked before anger clouded his features too. "I CARE ABOUT HIM! I love the boy like he was my brother or something! I can help him and I'm not going to give up because you got into a bloody hissy fit! He's a teenager….I won't force another teenager to go through what I went through!"

"You know what? We need time apart. You are driving me nuts!" Sakura stomped out, not noticing that Sasuke was hidden in a niche in the wall. The dark haired boy heard the door slam and Naruto collapse on the couch.

_I CARE ABOUT HIM! I love the boy_….Sasuke couldn't help hearing those words over and over again. No one had said that and meant it before. Then he slipped out and pretended to enter once more. The moment he entered the living room, Naruto jumped up with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, Sasuke…how was school?"

Sasuke wished he could just comfort the blond, whose smile looked faker than a clown's red nose. "It was fine. I had to go to Gaara's house…it was extremely boring. That's it. Oh yeah…I have holidays tomorrow and the day after…want to do something?"

Naruto nodded. "How about we visit a friend of mine? He's got a farm a few miles from here…it should be fun…"

Sasuke considered it for a moment. He'd never done stuff like that before and well, Naruto needed a break. "Yeah that suits me fine!"

* * *

The farm was a nice place. The house was really small, though. It was built on top of a small rise in the ground, cream colored with a tiled green roof. Naruto drove up the small, slightly bumpy drive way and stopped a few feet away from the house.

A tall man with a mop of wild gray hair and a most of his face covered by a mask came towards them. Naruto got out and ran towards the man, enveloping him in a hug. Then he turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke meet Kakashi, my guardian of sorts…he was my father's student! Kakashi this is _my_ ward, Uchiha Sasuke."

Kakashi seemed like he was smile, at least the eye curved upwards. "Nice to meet you Sasuke! Can't believe this moron is your guardian! He can't even take care of himself!"

Sasuke smirked. "Yeah, he's a moron…"

Naruto frowned and glared at him childishly for that. Sasuke rolled his eyes; it was funny how childish the older man could be…it was like there was a five year old stuck in that nineteen year old body. He helped the older men with the suitcases… and lugged them up the small porch into a smaller kitchen. There was just enough space in the kitchen for two people to stand side by side. Kakashi led them up to a medium sized bedroom on the first floor. It had a huge double bed with a small bedside table and a stained glass lamp on it. There was a very small bathroom adjoining the bedroom. A cupboard stood at one corner, with a full length mirror on it.

Naruto shoved his bags into a corner and took the last one from Sasuke. "Okay! Now all we have to do is get some lunch. Then we'll help out at the farm! I'll show you around after lunch k? Um it's ok that we'll have to sleep in the same bed right?"

_We'll be sleeping in the same bed? _Sasuke shook of the tingling feeling in him and nodded. They went down for lunch; it was very simple compared to what Naruto had been making for him. Just sausages, onion and bread. Naruto doused his sausage in barbeque sauce before eating with great speed. In a blink of an eye, the sausage was gone and three more followed. Then he whined about having to wait for the others to finish. Sasuke sighed and shook his head before getting up to clean his plate.

The moment they were done, Naruto got them squeezed onto Kakashi's tractor. Naruto excitedly pointed out the stables, the meadow, the barn, the pen for the sheep, the different crop growing there and shed used for carpentry. He seemed to really have forgotten that he was nineteen, as he ran around pointing excitedly and yelling at the op of his voice. Five dogs bounded out to greet him, toppling the blond to the floor and licking him clean. Sasuke was sure he'd squeak if he was rubbed. At last Naruto's excitement seemed to lessen and he stood panting a bit, but still grinning.

Kakashi tsked. "Naruto, you shouldn't be wearing yourself out like this…you'll never be able to work at this rate. Ok, now we'll have to begin working and you'll need to meet my farm hands. Naruto you can work in the stables with Raidou. Sasuke I'll show you where Izumo and Kotetsu work at the barn. You can milk the cows. And I will be doing some work patching up the fence."

They nodded and split up. Sasuke was intrigued by the milk machine and enjoyed milking the cows. Izumo and Kotetsu were fun; they talked continually putting him at ease. "So you're Naruto's ward…gosh I can't believe he's got a ward! How dyu like it eh? Him being your guardian and stuff?"

Sasuke shrugged. "He's a dobe…but he's kind."

They seemed to have got it that Sasuke wasn't much of a talker. So instead they told him about Naruto. "Well, he came to stay with Kakashi after the great tragedy! He was a small 'un… like about ten or so…" Izumo started off.

"Yeah… he and Kakashi used to stay at the city on school days and come here for the weekends. I remember Naruto used to have this big orange school bag; he used to bring huge amounts of home work here. Then he'd go find a quiet place and settle down…" Kotetsu smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he recollected.

"Tell me more…" said Sasuke, his curiosity whetted.

"Well, ok. He used to love this farm, he helped out all the time…but usually it ended in disasters…like the time he wanted to clean the horses and fell into a pile of manure instead. Thing is he loved the horses so much it didn't bother him. And he ran all around the house until Kakashi realized. It took us days to clean that up and five bottles of shampoo and shower gel to make him smell all right for school…" Izumo chuckled.

"What was the great tragedy?"

They're expression turned guarded at once. Kotetsu rubbed the bandage on the bridge of his nose. "Well, Naruto will tell you sometime. He hasn't had it easy, I can tell you. But he was too strong to be a cry baby."

Izumo nodded. "He got chased by a bull once." He changed the subject and started to giggle a bit. "He'd watched a bit too much TV, so when he was fourteen, he decided that he was old enough to get on the bull and ride it. But Kakashi had got a new bull, a feisty thing he was. Naruto of course held on for all he was worth, but Trevor…that's the bull… broke the fence and tossed him off. Naruto started running and almost ran up a tree. When we found him, Trevor was trying to shake him out of the tree and he was clinging for all he was worth. Poor fellow had sore arms for the next few days and they must have hurt like hell, but he didn't cry at all!"

They talked a bit more about Naruto…how he'd managed to set the meadow on fire, broken his arm in the carpentry shed, been carried off by a run away horse…well Sasuke felt a little glad that he hadn't known the kid when he was young. Once they finished Sasuke decided to go to the stables and find Naruto.

The moment he walked in, his jaw dropped. The blond was wearing loose dark blue jeans and was shirtless. Sasuke could see black boxers peeking out at his waist and his body had a sweaty sheen to it. Naruto hadn't noticed him yet, he was grooming a huge gray gelding; his muscles rippling as he brushed the horse down. Sasuke stared with hungry eyes as a bead of sweat made its way down Naruto's chest, between two small pink nipples and well chiseled abs. It slipped under the waist band of his pants and Sasuke's eyes followed it hungrily. Sasuke saw a weird spiraling tattoo on Naruto's firm stomach and was tracing it with his eyes when…

"Sasuke?"

Said fifteen year old looked up with a blush on his face. He met the blue eyes which were staring at him strangely and wondered what to say. "Um…I thought I'd come and find you since I'm done…"

Naruto just grinned and scratched his head. "Yeah, just give me a hand will you? I need to rub Haro down and it's going to take me a really long time…" Sasuke nodded and took the brush from him, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do with it. Suddenly two hands came around him and a sweaty chest pressed up against him. "Like this…" and Naruto's hands guided his hands in the directions he was supposed to follow. Sasuke took the chance to lean back against Naruto, and the blond man's hands stilled for a moment, both of them frozen in their positions. Then Naruto just continued as though nothing had happened leaving a very relieved Sasuke to finish the job after he moved away.

Once they were done, it was all ready five in the evening. They got back to their bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. Naruto smiled. "Fuck, I've missed this so much!"

"Yeah, you seemed to be having a lot of fun, dobe! I heard all those stories about you…I'm sure your friends would like to hear some of the things you've done…the bull story was cool…" Sasuke said his mouth quirked in amusement.

Naruto groaned. "No! Why did they have to tell you? I thought they were my secret keepers…."

"Well, they thought that since I'm your ward I needed to know these things….incase you tried to ground me or something…"

Naruto just grinned and ruffled Sasuke's hair. "Yeah ok, teme…whatever you say…" and Sasuke suddenly felt all warm inside.

* * *

**It gets Lemony here...but not too much or in detail...**

Sasuke woke up in the middle of the night, panting slightly…he'd dreamed that a rock had fallen onto him…then he realized that it was because Naruto had slung an arm around him. Sasuke tried to get calm, but his skin had begun tingling where Naruto's arm was touching him. Suddenly the arm cured and yanked; Sasuke went smack into the blond's chest, he stayed as still as he could, but feeling the soft smooth skin under his lips was a bit too much for him.

On autopilot, he began to kiss the toned flesh, he ran his tongue on it; Naruto tasted a wee bit salty. He blond groaned slightly in his sleep and pulled on Sasuke, so the boy found himself on top of his guardian much to his delight. _My will power is non-existent…_Sasuke bent down to capture those soft pink lips in his and nibbled at Naruto's bottom lip. The blond's mouth parted allowing the dark haired boy access. Sasuke slipped his tongue inside, loving Naruto's slightly spicy taste. Suddenly the blond ground upwards against Sasuke. The Uchiha gasped, feeling heat pool in his groin. This was going way too fast… if Naruto woke up…if Naruto woke up; Sasuke didn't know what he'd do. But he still couldn't stop kissing the blond, light soft kisses… Naruto's hand suddenly moved down, cupping the boy's ass and grinding upwards once more. Sasuke bit his lip hard enough to draw blood and now consciously forced himself to move off the blond, before it got out of hand.

He rolled all the way to his side of the bed; breathing hard…his erection was painful. Standing up he hobbled to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He fumbled with his pants, finally undoing the string and pushing them down with his boxers, thankfully freeing his straining erection. His hand curled over the smooth flesh and began to stroke at a fast pace. Sasuke closed his eyes, imagining it was Naruto's hand, that the blond was there hovering over him, kissing him and he tightened his grip. Now he imagined it was Naruto under him, moaning very softly as he thrust in and out of that silky heat. He bit his poor lip, abusing it once more as he held in the sounds. But then he came hard and fast into his hand with a short hoarse cry. He slid down against the door, glad that it was over, wondering how he was going to get through another night of this.

Back in the bedroom, Naruto was staring at the ceiling wide awake. He'd pretended to be asleep, he had woken up to Sasuke kissing him and had had no idea what to do, considering what Sasuke had been doing had felt so good. He cursed, feeling guilt welling up in him. This was his ward…a fifteen year old boy! He had no idea how to stop this and the sounds of Sasuke jerking off in the bathroom were driving him nuts…forcing him to imagine things he didn't want to. He heard a short cry as Sasuke came and then the sound of the boy sliding down the door. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to go back to sleep before Sasuke came back.

**Lemony-ness ends here...**

* * *

The next day passed all too fast. Sasuke had avoided Naruto as much as he could, busying himself with work on the farm. The blond had acted normal, pretending to question why the boy was avoiding him and such like. Naruto had a hard time; he had to stop checking the boy out, all the time. And at some point the guilt seemed like it was going to kill him. In the evening he came to bed late, making sure Sasuke was asleep on his side before sleeping on the edge of his own side.

The next morning they left early, so that Sasuke could be on time for school and Naruto for college. As Naruto dropped the kid off at school, he wondered if it could ever work out. Then he realized that he still had Sakura whom he loved and that Sasuke would and must stay like a brother to him….nothing more…

* * *

A/N: yeah how was that? I didn't want to put in too much lime…and no lemon yet cause they have to tie up a few lose ends here! Anyway please review! Ja ne!

Taka


	5. Fainting

A/N: (smiles sheepishly) ok i converted the C to F for the fever here! thank you for telling me!

Chapter 5:

Chicken nuggets. Chicken nuggets were all it took to drive Sasuke nuts…well onigiri and chicken nuggets were all it took to drive Sasuke nuts. How had Naruto known that? Though the first two days after their little trip had been extremely awkward for Sasuke, now two weeks later everything was back to normal. And Naruto…the sweetest man in the world was making him chicken nuggets. Sasuke had no idea whether to hug him or just stay in character. In character would be better-body contact with Naruto was the second thing could drive him nuts…more like drive _his_ nuts and dick to do the thinking for him.

He settled for his half smile-smirk, controlling it lest it turned into a smile…Uchiha's _never_ smiled over food! "Chicken nuggets, dobe? What happened to all your fancy dishes…?"

Naruto smiled. His hair was really mussed, his face a bit red from the heat, sweat dripped down his forehead, but his eye glimmered with happiness. "Not in the mood. Thought you might like these… but since you're being oh so condescending about them, maybe I should give some to that homeless mutt and make you something else."

"No!" Sasuke realized that came out a bit desperate. "I mean, no I don't want you tirelessly slaving in he kitchen for me. Chicken nuggets won't do my system any harm." _I can smell them…nice fried chicken nuggets with ketchup and mayonnaise. Oh don't throw them away please…_

"No, really. It's no biggie. Kiba's coming over with the gang and they dig chicken nuggets. So I'll just make you onigiri shall I?" Naruto's eyes danced with mirth. "Ok, since that's settled, you should go freshen up a bit. This time I want you to talk to my friends…at least a little instead of glaring at them…I think Shikamaru said something about bringing over a charge too. Maybe you'll have some company."

Sasuke covered up his disappointment. _You asked for it…now they're all going to get the nuggets…oh no!_ "Yeah, whatever dobe. Think they'll be interested about hearing about the bull?"

Naruto's expression sobered at once, his eyes serious and his mouth set in a straight line. "Now, Sasuke the bull topic is off-limits. The next time I meet Izumo and Kotetsu, they'll be in heaven!"

Sasuke sniggered as he left; sometimes teasing Naruto was much too funny. Of course, if the occasion arose, the bull story would be out and Naruto wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.

Sasuke finished his homework and took a small nap. When he woke up it was seven in the evening. He could hear voices downstairs and some music. He slipped on a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans and then headed downstairs. Downstairs was a mess to put it mildly. There were also a few people he didn't know.

Naruto was on one arm chair, Sakura cuddled up on his lap; Neji was in the middle of the couch sitting straight and glaring at any male who got near a female look alike of his, sitting in the corner of the couch, Shikamaru and a blond were stuffed into one more arm chair…a slightly plump man with another blond was on the ottoman, a man with big eyes, huge eyebrows and a bowl shaped cut was on Neji's other side, TenTen sat on the armrest next to Lee. Some of the dining chairs had been brought into the living room…four to be precise, occupied by Kiba, a guy in dark glasses_ (who wore dark glasses inside?)_, another dark haired guy and…Gaara.

"Gaara?" Sasuke stared at his classmate who was placidly following the ruckus. The red head looked up.

"Uchiha, what are you doing here?" He said in his deep voice.

Naruto smiled. "You know each other? Sasuke lives here, he's my ward! Everyone say hello to Sasuke."

"Hello Sasuke!" chorused out.

Sasuke shook his head and got himself a chair too. He looked at plate of what had to be chicken nugget leftovers and let a crestfallen expression wander onto his face…_no_! Naruto shifted a bit, so that Sakura wasn't suffocating him and then started to introduce more people.

"The guy with the dark glasses and the two on the ottoman are Kiba's friends, Shino, Chouji and Ino. The guy sitting next to Gaara is Sai, a friend of Sakura's. The blond squished in with lazy-ass is Temari, Gaara's sister and finally the little lady you see next to Neji is Hinata, Neji's cousin. Neji's fiercely protective of her; don't get too close he might bite your hand off." Naruto chortled, getting cut off as Sakura kissed him.

Sasuke looked away, trying not to let his disgust show. He door bell dinged and Kiba almost ran to it. "Pizza!" and it was…four, huge cheesy pizzas.

Sasuke sighed; he wasn't in the mood for pizzas. Everyone else cheered though. Shikamaru somehow got his girlfriend to get up so he could lie back more comfortably. "Naruto, where's the booze?"

"Got it!" Kiba hyperactively bounced off and got crates of beer. He tossed one to everyone. When it went flying towards Sasuke, Naruto's hand shot out, catching it.

"Nuh uh…none for the under aged guys. You can get soda if you feel like. Shika, take hat away from Gaara please." Naruto ordered. Sasuke grimaced.

"For the love of God, I've had beer before Naruto! It doesn't matter I can hold my alcohol!" he glared ice at Naruto. The blond shook his head firmly, but before he could say anything, Sakura piped up.

"If Naruto says no, hen it's no Sasuke-kun. Don't whine." She smirked at him, before trying to keep Naruto's attention to herself. Sasuke frowned, the stupid bitching trying to poke her nose into his business!

For the rest of the night, Sakura barely let Naruto talk to Sasuke. She made sure the only people he talked to were his college mates. Sasuke had to make do with observing all the bums at this party. Lee was talking to TenTen, occasionally going a little crazy and showing her martial arts moves. His made everyone…the sober ones at least try to save the falling vases, books and such like. Kiba would gaze at Hinata with a love sick expression and the girl blushed and stammered whenever she noticed it. Neji glared at her, but he was also throwing glances at Gaara, who was nonchalantly staring back.

Chouji and Ino were discussing food, Sai was intently looking at Sakura and Naruto, Shino was examining a spider which he'd brought with him and Sasuke…was bored. Plus he could stop wanting to kill the pink haired bitch.

Gaara sauntered up to him and they went to the dining room for a while to get away from the chaos. Shikamaru had fallen asleep and Temari was angry. Gaara looked at Sasuke for a minute and then raised an eyebrow.

"So you like him…"

Sasuke looked up in surprise, eyes widening a bit. "What are you talking about, Sabaku?"

"Your guardian…Naruto. You really like him, don't you?" Gaara repeated slowly, but softly making sure he understood.

Sasuke shook his head and glared. "No. Not in the way you mean. He's my guardian…I'm his ward. Which part of that don't you get?"

Gaara smirked. "So you're glaring death at the pink slut because he's your guardian? You've been staring at them all evening. If you want him, you should go for it!"

"And how would I do that, Sabaku? That Neji dude had been giving you looks as well…what are you going to do about it?" Sasuke asked mockingly. He hated that Gaara knew, but was in a way relived that he could talk to _someone_ about this.

"Tell me Sasuke, do you think everyone's drunk?" Gaara asked his eyes on Neji.

"Not really no. why?"

Gaara sighed. "Oh well. Then for a different route."

Sasuke walked as Gaara walked confidently up to Neji, they had a short conversation and then Gaara headed away to the space just behind the open kitchen…there was a small corridor, hidden from view by the wall. After a few minutes Neji followed, Sasuke peeked. Then he heard a thud and saw Gaara against the wall, with Neji's tongue in his mouth.

Sasuke turned away. Yeah he was wishing he could do that to Naruto, but he did not want to watch Gaara go at it. It was about ten now, and everyone was boozed up and had eaten their pizza. They began to leave; Sasuke heaved a sigh and made for his room. His tummy growled, he hadn't eaten a thing since he hadn't been able to find any onigiri…Naruto must have forgotten. Though the blond never forgot things before…must be the bitch's fault.

He changed and fell onto his bed, feeling hungry and wiped out. He could hear Naruto and Sakura make their way up to Naruto's room. So the bitch was staying. Naruto's door opened and then closed again; suddenly Sasuke heard a soft knock. He mumbled a "come in"

Naruto stepped inside with a plate; he looked behind him to make sure Sakura was in his room still. Then he smiled at Sasuke, his cheeks a little flushed, his eyes lazed over with drink. "I saved some nuggets for you, teme. Here I got you onigiri too. You should eat right. Wash up once you finish ok?"

He handed Sasuke the plate and gave him half a hug, kissed him on the forehead and then went back to his room. Sasuke stared after him, before turning o gaze at the plate of his most favorite food in the world. _How in the world had Naruto known I liked nuggets?_ Then he proceeded to eat it with relish. Onigiri first, then the nuggets dipped in mayonnaise and ketchup…Naruto had even brought those. Finally he finished and went to wash up. On his way back, he heard moans from Naruto's room. Then Sakura's yells, she was a loud bitch. The whole evening Sasuke felt like he'd been competing with her…she'd won now.

He couldn't go to bed, not with their moans, pants and screams permeating his walls. Somehow Naruto's noises sounded the loudest…Sasuke couldn't stop himself from feeling turned on. Once more he had to flee to the bathroom with some alone time with his hand.

* * *

_**Four weeks later:**_

Today was not a good day. He'd been yelled at by Anko-sensei for coming in late after lunch. That had in turn made him late to gym, then he'd realized he'd forgotten his gym uniform and had had to pick some from the seconds they had in a box. The shirt was too big for him, it kept slipping to the side revealing a bit of his shoulder. He finished the laps Ibiki-sensei given him and then joined everyone else in their obstacle race…he beat them all once more.

Then Ibiki had called him to deliver a lecture about tardiness…Sasuke was glad it was the last hour. When he finally finished and made his way to the locker room to change. He'd finished showering and gotten his shorts on when a hand slipped down his bare chest. Sasuke tried to turn, but he got slammed into the wall. His captor stood behind him, face coming forward to nibble his ear. Sasuke struggled, trying to turn back far enough to glare.

"My, my…been too distracted today, eh Sasuke-kun?"

"Kabuto… let me go, you prick!" Sasuke struggled even more, managing to get an arm free. He whirled and punched Kabuto across his face. Two pairs of hands caught him, slamming him back into the wall. "I said let me go, you want to get back into hospital again?"

Kabuto smirked. "Hospital? No I don't think we'll be going there, anytime soon. Actually I wanted to see if you wanted to get some coffee some time?"

"A date? You're asking me on a date…I wouldn't touch you with a barge pole, you bastard!" Sasuke growled, straining against the two holding him.

"I was going to be nice, but since that doesn't work with you…" Kabuto caught his face and kissed him. Sasuke bit down hard and Kabuto back up choking on his own blood. There was a cut in his tongue and blood was gushing out. His eyes narrowed as he punched the Uchiha hard.

Sasuke winced seeing stars, he'd have a huge bruise they now. Kabuto's leg slammed into his stomach, Sasuke crumpled as his captors let go of him. He staggered, as Kabuto delivered another kick sending him stumbling towards the far wall. Sasuke panted trying to regain his balance…he was just bruised, not if he could concentrate, hen he could kick their ass. Just as Kabuto walked up to him menacingly, there was a cry. Both the boys turned to see one of Kabuto's lackeys fall to the floor, blood gushing from his nose. The other one went down too.

Gaara stood there, calmly staring at Kabuto, daring him to hurt the Uchiha. "I think you should go home, Kabuto…before you get sent back to hospital."

Sasuke glared. "Sabaku stay out of this ok? It's my fight." He ran at Kabuto, slamming him into the wall. Then he tried this move he'd thought off and brought his leg and hand up simultaneously breaking Kabuto's nose and kneeing him in the groin, and then he flicked his wrist forwards, poking the boy in both eyes. He older boy slid to the ground, crying out in pain.

Then there were footsteps, Gaara suddenly caught Sasuke and shoved him out the window. "I'm taking responsibility for this. Don't argue, you don't want Naruto coming down here again."

Sasuke nodded and picked up the clothes and bag Gaara had thrown at him. Then he ran as fast as he could…which wasn't his usual speed. His face was throbbing…he grit his teeth and made his way to the bus stop. He didn't want to walk home today…Naruto wouldn't mind him taking a bus.

Back at the house, Naruto was lying on the couch, with a painful headache. He'd had to do this internship with this ad agency for his Media course and he had been getting back home at three in morning, before laving for college at seven. Plus he'd had to wake up at five to be able to make breakfast and get assignments done…that had been his routine for the past three weeks. He hadn't been feeling too good. Sakura had been whining so he'd taken her to dinner whenever he could, leaving Sasuke to get take-out.

Today was the one day; he'd been given the rest of the day off. That was only because his boss Tsunami had noticed that the cheerful blond had been looking peaky and dead. They'd had a huge project on their hands…to be done in a month…and the clients weren't satisfied with anything. They'd got Naruto working on it since he was pretty creative, but they had a deadline. Naruto opened his eyes as he saw the front door open, he got to his feet, ready to get something for Sasuke to eat.

Then he saw his charge's disheveled appearance and the huge bruise forming on his face. "God, Sasuke what happened? Was it those guys again? The same ones as last time?"

Sasuke saw the state he blond was in and sighed. "Yeah, but it's my fight Naruto. Don't worry about it. Besides, you look awful…have been looking awful for days. You should hit the bed…do you have a thermometer?"

Naruto nodded and Sasuke went to get it. He shoved it into the blond's mouth and waited three minutes. Then he checked it. 102°F…so the blond had high temperature. (I use the metric system here…so just convert it ok?) he tried to get the blond to go to bed, but Naruto refused, wanted to spend eternity on the stupid couch.

Finally Sasuke just brought the quilt down, filled a hot water bottle and got a footbath; he bundled the blond up and then wondered what he should do. Chicken soup was good, but he had no idea how to make it. He went to bookshelf near the kitchen and looked through the many recipe books, finally finding an easy one. After seeing that they had all the ingredients, he began to follow the directions to the tee.

The doorbell rang when he was almost done. He opened it to admit the Sakura-bitch into the household. Sasuke brushed off an uneasy feeling he had and went back to his soup. He saw that the female hadn't bothered to ask Naruto what was wrong.

Naruto looked up at Sakura with a weak smile, throwing the covers off him and sitting down properly. "Hey Sakura." He said his voice a tad raspy.

Sakura sat down. "Naruto, we need to talk." She looked up at Sasuke watching her and bent a bit more closer.

Naruto nodded, his face as alert as he could get. Sakura took a deep breath. "I'm ending this."

Naruto stopped mid nod. He stared at her before rasping out a "Why?"

Sakura grimaced and then continued. "Look, I'm really sorry but something's come up." She looked at his shell shocked expression and didn't bat an eyelid. Her eyes just filled with tears.

"I love you, Sakura. What could have come up for you to break up?" Naruto questioned his face pained.

Sakura took a deep breath again, tears trickling down her face. "I'm sorry, but I…I love someone else. I really wanted to give this a try again, but I'm…I'm pregnant with his child…and…"

Naruto stared at her in disbelief. "You…you were cheating on me?"

Sakura shook her head and stood up. Her voice was shrill and angry. "Don't put it like that! I knew you'd over react! It's _your_ fault actually! I tried telling you so many times! You never listened…you were never around. It was always Sasuke this, Sasuke that and then work this and work that! I never figured! Couldn't you see how desperate I was to spend time with you? I really loved you, but Sai was sweet to me. He was always there for me. I love him! I'm going to have his child and live with him, so there!"

Naruto watched her for a moment, speechlessly. He felt really hot and stuffy…too hot. Everything she told him rung in his head a little. He struggled to cope, but his head felt like mush. There was a ringing in his ears, then his vision went white, he heard Sasuke shouting something distantly and then there was welcome blackness.

* * *

A/N: that's it. You'll have one more chapter soon! I can't believe I actually had time to write this whole chapter in a day. Yippee! So more reviews faster updates! Keep it in mind! Ja ne!

Taka


	6. Spinning

Taka: all the Iruka fans out there…he enters in this chapter. Yes there is going to be some KakaIru here, cos I think they're a cute couple.

Chapter 6:

Shizune turned to Sasuke. "It's ok. He's just really stressed and over worked. His fever arises from that…it is pretty severe, but if you get him the medicines needed and feed him the right food, he'll be all right in no time."

Sasuke nodded, the worried look never leaving his face. "Um…do I have to take more days off from school? It's a little difficult right now, but if you gave me a medical certificate or something. Please Shizune-san, I don't want to call a nurse and I'm too worried to leave him alone."

Shizune stared at him for a moment. "All right. But you'll have a pretty big job. Don't do things that stress him or let him run around. Keep him in bed for about a week if you can. Call another adult over…you don't have to do everything yourself. Kakashi would be a good choice."

Sasuke nodded. "Fine, then. I'll call him right away." Sasuke walked her to the door and then turned his attention back to Naruto. The blond was tossing and turning, forehead creased in a frown. He sighed and began to lightly massage Naruto's aching forehead. When he was sure the blond had calmed down for the time being, he wet a towel and spread it over his fore head, hoping the cold compress would work.

He picked up the phone and dialed Kakashi's number, which had been so hard to find, since Naruto had as usual dumped it in some place. Gosh the blond never ever arranged things! The phone rang for a long while before it was picked.

"Naruto?"

"No, it's Sasuke."

"Aa, Sasuke…what can I do for you?"

"Naruto isn't well. You see his girlfriend Sakura…" Sasuke proceeded to tell Kakashi everything. "So I was wondering if you could come down? I can manage for a week or so, but I don't know if he can manage once I get back to school. And you're the closest thing he has to a parent, I don't know anyone else."

"All right I'll be there in about two o three hours ok? Just put some sheets for me in the guest bedroom next to what I presume is your room and clean up a little will you. And if Naruto starts having a nightmare, see if you can get him to sit up and rub the small of his back in medium sized circles. He feels better if you do that. And if you have any chicken, look at the book in the shelf above the kitchen's breakfast counter. It's full of the easy-to-make recipes for chicken soup and such like. So if you can make some chicken soup and something solid for yourself. Don't burn the kitchen down." Kakashi instructed and Sasuke heard the slamming of a car door in the background.

"Yes, we'll be fine until you get here, Kakashi-san. Thank you."

Then Sasuke went to change the cold compress and then went to find the chicken soup recipe again. It had seemed fairly easy, better than yesterday's recipe and he followed the instructions to the tee, though once more he was stumped when it came to salt. He always knew there was something missing but he could never pinpoint that it was salt. He tasted a bit and deemed it was alright. Carefully pouring it into a bowl, he carried it up to Naruto's room, hoping the man would wake up enough to eat it. Since Shizune had said no solids, he'd strained all the chicken out, retaining only the liquid part of the soup. He never had to care for a person who was sick before, so he fervently hoped he was doing the right thing.

He woke Naruto and lifted the blond man into a sitting position…it was now that he realized how much weight Naruto had lost, he was so frail. He looked so frail for a big muscular college dude. "Naruto? Naruto, wake up. It's time to eat." The blond opened sleep hazed eyes and blearily looked at Sasuke.

"Sasuke? Wha…?"

"I need you to drink what I'm giving you ok? Slowly…" he held fed Naruto, spoonful by spoonful. Half the time Naruto had no idea was going on and had to be woken up by Sasuke. The boy felt exhausted, since he'd been caring for the blond all night. He finished feeding Naruto and then went down to clean up. After that was done, he went back to watch over Naruto.

* * *

Kakashi rang the door bell a few times…still no one came down. Sighing he reached into his pocket to produce a key and unlocked the door. The house was eerily quiet; he shut the door behind him and made his way upstairs to Naruto's room. Opening the door he saw the blond sleeping fitfully with an Uchiha in the chair by his bed, curled up and deeply asleep. Kakashi shook his head…the boy was going to get sick too, if he slept by the blond. He picked the Uchiha who didn't even realize and dumped him, into bed in his own room.

Then he went over to check up on Naruto and the medicines he was taking. Then he checked the kitchen to see what food there was. The fridge seemed well stocked, with enough meat and vegetables to last half the week at the most. So Naruto was taking good care of the boy…such good care that he forgot about himself. Kakashi decided to decide on dinner…for Naruto he would make the Indian pepper soup, which cured illnesses very fast and for himself and Sasuke he would make some spaghetti with meatballs. Both were quick and easy.

As he made his way to the lounge, the phone began to ring, Kakashi picked up the extension quickly, not wanting to wake the other two up. It was Sakura, Kakashi's lip curled in distaste.

"Hello? Naruto?"

"No, his guardian Kakashi. How may I help you Sakura?"

"Give it to Naruto! I have to speak to him about something."

"Sorry, can't. Naruto is in bed with a high fever and is no in a position to answer the phone."

"Just give it to him! I think I left some stuff here and I want my stuff back! I left my favorite pink shirt there and I want it back _now_!"

Kakashi grimaced. "Sakura, listen to me very carefully. You broke up with Naruto. If what Sasuke tells me is true, then you called four times after he threw you out. I know your stuff is important. It is lying outside on the veranda. You can pick it up, but you cannot enter the house, got it. If you do, I will talk to a lawyer I know and ask that a restraining order be placed on you. You will never speak to Naruto again…whether in a group or not. You will forget about him and move on, whether you realize you've made a mistake or not. Do I make myself clear…? If I do not, I'll be seeing you in jail!" He had no idea if he could do this, but if he could scare her off it was enough.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Want to bet on that? You have hurt Naruto…it's not the break up….everyone breaks up, but you've caused him more mental stress than is advisable, you picked the wrong time to tell him, knowing he was sick. If I can't see you in jail…I have other ways of making sure you do not see light of day. Yes I am threatening to kill you. So get your stuff and leave." Kakashi hung up. Well at least the twit believed the nonsense about jail.

He turned on the TV and flipped through a few things. He watched for about two to three hours, even dozing off sometimes, getting up once to give Naruto his medicine. This was so boring…there was a knock on the door and Kakashi stood up frowning. If I was that Sakura bitch, then he was really going to blow. Why in the seven hells would she ring the door bell after him specifically telling her not to? He walked to the door and threw it open.

"Get lost. If I have to tell you one mo…" he trailed off when he saw a chocolate brown haired man standing by the door gaping at him. Kakashi cleared his throat. "Uh…I'm sorry I thought you were Sakura bitch…I mean I thought you were someone else. How may I help you?"

"I'm Naruto's Phonetics professor Umino Iruka. I heard he was sick and brought pepper soup, which I heard works wonders. I also heard he had a ward, so I brought a chicken casserole. I am right in assuming you are not the ward, since you seem too old for it, am I not?" The man smiled.

Kakashi looked him up and down, and then nodded, his mask covering his smile. "Oh well, come on in. I'm Naruto's guardian…I was _once_ his guardian. His ward called me asking for help and so I came to their rescue. And you have just rescued me from the chore of cooking. So I am sure you will be having dinner with us?"

Before Iruka could reply, Sasuke came down the stairs holding a baseball bat. Then he saw Kakashi and sighed. "It's you. Why didn't you warn me? You should have woken me up. I've slept away most of the afternoon. Did you give Naruto, his medicine? And who's that?"

Kakashi clicked his tongue. "Don't be rude Sasuke. This is Umino Iruka, Naruto's professor. He brought some soup for Naruto and chicken casserole for us. It saved you and me the trouble of cooking. And well, he seems to have brought a huge dish, so I was just asking him to join us before you so rudely interrupted." He turned back to the brown haired man. "And that rude barbarian is Naruto's ward Sasuke. Don't worry about the scowl it seems to be a permanent fixture on his face…"

Iruka smiled at Sasuke, who directed an icy glare at Kakashi. "Nice to meet you Sasuke. If you don't mind, can I go see Naruto? I maybe be able to help…"

Sasuke directed a pleasant look at Iruka a bit flattered that the professor had asked him and not Kakashi. "Go ahead please…I'm sure you'll do a better job than the pervert over there…"

The man shook his head and headed towards Naruto's room after being pointed in the direction by Sasuke. The raven haired boy began to take the food to the kitchen. Kakashi helped him, putting the pepper soup onto heat so Naruto could have an early dinner and get back to bed. Iruka came down a while later…

"He's not in very good shape, but it doesn't seem too bad either. You seem to have been holding out rather well Sasuke-kun." Iruka stated sweetly.

Sasuke nodded and then noticed the look Kakashi was giving Iruka. Oh god no…the pervert seriously couldn't be ogling Naruto's teacher! Was there no limit to his crimes?

* * *

Iruka blushed again. Kakashi made another perverted comment. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. Naruto tried to laugh, but ended up having a coughing. Everyone stopped doing nothing and rounded on Naruto making enquiries about his health. Naruto sighed.

"I'm fine! Now cut it out!"

Sasuke frowned at him. "Sheesh, we were just concerned…"

Naruto looked at him shooting an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. It's just cough….thanks to you guys my fever is non-existent. Remember you guys even did that victory prance around my room, when you noticed it had broken…and you gave me a splitting headache…"

Iruka blushed a bit. "Yeah well, we were very worried, Naruto." He was about to say something else but the door burst open, to reveal Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru, Temari, Hinata, Ino and Chouji….Gaara trailed in after them. The men carried loads of beer.

"Naruto, man!" Kiba hollered, making Iruka cringe. "We heard you got better so we came right over. Heard what happened, that is one bitch man, don't worry about the woman!" he stopped and looked at the others.

"Kakashi! Yo dude! Long time no see! And Iruka-sensei…what the hell are you doing here?" Kiba threw an arm around the man, not noticing Kakashi's slight frown.

"I've been visiting Naruto. You shouldn't bring alcohol in when a person is sick Kiba!" Iruka chided.

"Please Iruka-sensei….I really need some of that. And we can get pizza…I haven't had pizza in ages…you and Kakashi can stay…join us. Sasuke can stay and eat the pizza…talk…whatever…" Naruto turned pleading blue onto who Iruka who caved in.

Once again the house was filled with people talking, laughing and drinking. For once Sasuke could sit opposite Naruto and watch him for as long as he liked. He noticed the way Neji sat extra close to Gaara almost hugging him. Sasuke waited till everyone was high, before picking up a can of beer. He very obviously opened it and waited….no one noticed. Smiling he downed it in one go, watching Gaara do the same.

Once the beer was gone, Kakashi broke out the sake and some vodka as well, so here was variety. It didn't take much to get Sasuke pretty tipsy, by the time Naruto noticed and gave a drunken howl before taking the drinks away from him.

"Bad, Shasuke… naughty boy…I t'ld you not to drink…" Naruto shook a finger at him before draping his arms over the boy and hugging him close. "I want t' be a g'd guardian…" Sasuke nodded too, feeling light headed, but still having his wits about him.

The pizza guy came and Chouji miraculously brought them in without spilling or eating them. Then of course everyone had to fight over the biggest slice getting some cheese on themselves. It was chaotic.

Kiba suddenly stood, bottle held aloft. "Let's play spin the bottle. We'll spin it twice and whoever it lands on will have to kiss….." he looked around and then added "In the closet…" as an after thought.

Everyone clustered around the table. The bottle spun and landed on Kiba. It spun again and landed on Neji…Gaara growled, but Kiba still yanked the man into the closet. They came out looking like they'd suffocated…nothing had happened so Gaara didn't kill the dog-man. it spun to Naruto and Hinata….now it was Kiba's turn to get mad and when they came out, Hinata had her lipstick smudged which resulted in Kiba lunging for Naruto the same time Neji did and they ended up fighting each other.

Iruka sat in the corner blushing when the bottle came to him and crossed his fingers as it went to Kakashi. They disappeared into a room and didn't come back down for a while, until Iruka came out in his boxers and ran for the door crying. Kakashi ran after him yelling that he didn't think Iruka was a girl. Everyone rolled their eyes…or tried to…only Sasuke managed it. Suddenly Naruto had had enough and began to cough badly. He chucked them all out of the house.

After that they found Shikamaru sleeping behind the couch. Temari came running back for him and a melodramatic scene commenced. Then the couple sang "Ain't No Sunshine" and killed…no murdered he song. Sasuke lost his patients and actually booted Shikamaru out. By the time he made sure Naruto wasn't going out after explaining to the blond that it was his house and he didn't have to go anywhere, he was pooped. And the alcohol he had drunk was making him extremely uninhibited though he fought to get a hold of his emotions.

But then again, there was a rule in some book up there which said that a Naruto would always cause a Sasuke to loose control with his cuteness. And that is exactly what happened. Naruto sat down in front of Sasuke, who was sitting on the couch and aimlessly twirling the bottle.

"Shashu…. The bottle…ish still shpinning…" Naruto squinted at the bottle that went round and round. He suddenly jumped when it stopped saying proudly. "It pointed to me!"

"Yes, yes…now quit yelling the room his swaying…" Sasuke informed him, giving the bottle another twirl…it was so much easier to concentrate on the bottle rather than a room or the beginnings of a headache…

Naruto sat back down and watched the bottle carefully. Sasuke sighed and looked elsewhere not intent on seeing where the bloody thing stopped. It was hard trying to concentrate when the dobe shoved his big blond head in the way. He sighed and made to stand up when he was suddenly pushed into the sofa. Naruto was holding him down, smiling at him all crinkle-eyed.

"The bottle pointed to you Sasuke…"

"So what the hell are you…" Sasuke got cut off as the blond's lips sealed his.

* * *

A/N: I know it's short but I'm stopping here. I hop you liked it. I know spin the bottle is clichéd but I wanted to make it not soo….don't know if it worked out. Anyway please review…motivation is at stand still with the no. of reviews I got for TNI…so please help me continue. Sorry for the delay but real life caged me and refused to let me go…!

Taka

P.S: real life caught me so tight, I had no time for Ita-darling and now exams are coming up! –Wails-


	7. Malfunctioning

Chapter 7:

(Lemon-ish; Lime)

It started out as a chaste kiss, but at some point Naruto's tongue came out to lick Sasuke's bottom lip, begging for entrance, which for some reason Sasuke refused to give which pissed Naruto off. A drunken, pissed off Naruto always got what he wanted, which Sasuke was about to learn. The blond nipped hard at Sasuke's bottom lip, making him gasp in pain, before slipping his tongue in.

Sasuke gave up. His head…no the room…was spinning and he was being kissed by the person he was crushing on. _Why am I fighting it?_ He clumsily kissed back, sucking on Naruto's tongue, battling it for dominance. They went on like that for a while, until suddenly Naruto picked him up and put him on the couch properly. He lay on top of Sasuke and slipped his hands into his t–shirt.

Sasuke gasped as Naruto's fingers came up to pinch his nipples slightly, he did what all teenage boys do when they're aroused; he ground up into the blond. Naruto let his hands roam the soft, pale skin coming back each time to tease Sasuke's nipples, he ignored the boy's insistent bucking, wanting to feel more of him. Sasuke mewled; annoyed with Naruto's teasing…he yanked the blond into another hard kiss, willing him to do something to sate the ache that was beginning to form in his jeans.

Luck seemed to be on his side as Naruto sat up and pushed him back into the arm of the couch. Then the blond undid the raven's jeans and pulled off slowly. Then he slipped Sasuke's tight-y white-y boxers off…to expose the boy's average, rather thick erection which was leaking precum. Bending down slowly, he licked it off, making Sasuke cry out. Watching the raven's face Naruto took the head into his mouth and wrapped a hand around the base. He tugged it just was he sucked the head. Sasuke threw back his head, his grip on the couch tightening.

Naruto, somewhere in his lust crazed mind decided to make it simple and began a neat rhythm of sucking and tugging, pausing sometimes to pay attention to licking the slit. He let his tongue trace the vein on the underside of the Uchiha's cock; he loved the sounds Sasuke made…he also learnt that Sasuke loved it when he tongued his slit.

"Nnnhhhnnn….Naruto…" Sasuke's hands went down to twine in the blond hair as he approached his orgasm. It was too fast, but then he'd had no experience of this sort of thing. Naruto's hands massaging his balls was the last straw, crying out he came hard into Naruto's mouth.

The blond lapped it all up and smiled at Sasuke who was lying with his eyes closed, utterly exhausted with the days events. Naruto slipped off his own pants to quickly stroke himself to completion, while the raven watched an awed look on his face. He came and wiped himself off with one of their boxers, before lying down and pulling Sasuke onto him. Slipping his hands back into the boy's shirt, he snuggled into his chest and fell asleep. Sasuke soon followed not coherent enough to think about this.

(End of lemon-ish; Lime)

* * *

Sunlight filtered through the room mischievously striking Naruto right in the eyes. The blond groaned and opened his eyes, blinking to clear them out. The first thing he saw was Sasuke's hair; the boy's face was snug against his chest covered by his bangs. Naruto wondered how the hell they were sleeping on the couch…in addition to a pounding headache; he now had a backache as well.

Yawning he shifted eliciting a small moan from the younger boy. That's when he realized…he slowly looked down and found that both he and Sasuke were half clothed. Not the 'good' half clothed with their tops off…but the 'bad' half clothed with their tops still on, but their bottoms strewn on the floor. He blushed hotly at the sight of Sasuke's naked groin against his own.

Slowly slipping off the couch, he made a grab for his boxers and pulled them on. He looked around frantically for his pants, where the _hell_ were they? He scrabbled under the couch, trying to reach them; God knows how they got behind the couch! And he couldn't get behind the couch because he might wake Sasuke up…

"Naruto?"

_Too late_. He turned to see Sasuke staring up at him, a hazy smile on his face. _Shit, he remembers…what do I do?_

"What are you doing down there?"

Naruto grabbed Sasuke boxers, meaning to throw them to him, when he realized that they were covered in cum. He stared at Sasuke…the lazy pleased look was disappearing from his eyes, those beautiful obsidian to be replaced by worry.

"Naruto?" Sasuke saw Naruto's eyes steadfastly averted and his mind slowly got the picture. "Oh…I think I'll go take a shower, I have school after all. And we…we don't want Kakashi or Iruka to walk in on us like this, right?"

"Sasuke, I'm sorry…" Naruto regretted saying that the moment Sasuke's eyes flashed with hurt.

"No. I wanted it. But I guess you didn't. I need to shower now, Naruto or I'll be late for school." Sasuke got up, picked up his pants and snatched his boxers away from Naruto, before running the up the stairs. Naruto heard the bathroom door slam in a moment.

The blond picked up his own clothes and walked to his room. _What have I done? He's my ward! I'm his guardian! _The blond collapsed onto his bed. He didn't have anything to do today, since he still wasn't supposed to be well enough to get to college. _But I'm well enough to make-out and end up at third base with my ward!_ He heard footsteps which stopped outside his door.

"I'll get going then. Ja, Naruto!"

_Oh god…life's just getting so much harder! _

* * *

Kabuto wasn't a boy who would leave things alone, especially not when he'd gotten beaten up by Gaara. The Uchiha had taken a long bit of medical leave and he'd only gotten back to school in the past week. He looked around the class, Gaara wasn't there. Grinning he went back to watching Uchiha. The boy seemed quiet…depressed really. _Must be boyfriend troubles_…the thought made Kabuto angry.

He wanted to go out with Uchiha…he didn't want anyone else touching him. He would get Sasuke today; there was no one to help the boy. Kabuto laughed to himself, he'd show Uchiha how good he was, and after that the dark haired boy wouldn't want anyone else.

Unaware of Kabuto's plans, Sasuke was locked away in his own head. Love was too much to hope for. He'd made a big mistake in opening up to Naruto…he should have stayed emotionless, not given the blond the key to his heart.

He knew he couldn't get love…the lasting kind that is. Sure lots of girls liked him, some boys as well, but that was only for his looks. He'd thought…he'd thought he'd have some chance of convincing Naruto that he loved him, he'd thought that maybe Naruto would love him back. But then again he was only 15; Naruto was four years older than him. Who was he trying to kid?

No one wanted Uchiha Sasuke…no one wanted the boy whose brother had murdered their parents. Whose brother had done so much worse to Sasuke…the dark haired boy laid his head on his desk, letting the cool surface calm him down. He'd wanted to cry…bawl like a baby but it wouldn't be prudent to do that in the middle of his first class. He decided to take a sick pass.

Then he headed for the bathroom instead of the nurse's room. He sat in one of the cubicles, brooding about how he was going to beat the awkwardness that would prevail at 'home' no doubt. His head hurt from the alcohol and he felt weak and puke-ish. He heard the door open and then close. Then there were footsteps.

Sasuke looked up to see Kabuto. He swore under his breath. "What do you want?"

"You…"

Sasuke snorted. "You really are lame. Why don't you just leave me alone? I have loads more to think about than bother with you…"

Kabuto shoved him hard against the back of the toilet, making his back hit the plumbing hard. Sasuke cried out and started to struggle…but he was still too hung over to be able to fight back well. The older boy kissed him, one hand holding Sasuke's arms behind him and the other snaking into his shirt. That was the point when Sasuke started to space out.

**(Violent almost- lemon/abuse)**

_Itachi had him pinned to the bed, his arms held behind him. Itachi's hands roamed his body, touching nipples, abs and down lower…when the hand wrapped around his cock he cried out…he didn't want this! No matter how hard he was, he hated this…he wished Itachi would stop. This had been going on for a year now…his parents couldn't…wouldn't do anything about it. They couldn't let people know about their eldest going insane. _

_He bucked into his brother's hand as the older boy jerked him off. Then Itachi paused to tie him to the headboard before continuing his ministrations. The pace was such that Sasuke could neither come nor could he cool down. Just when he thought he might get off easy four fingers were being pushed into him. He tried to scream, but Itachi's lips held it in. turning him around, Itachi pulled out his knife, making long thin cuts down Sasuke's thighs…cuts which would not scar, but which hurt more. _

_Tears flowed down Sasuke's cheeks as his brother began to spank him hard. But the worst was yet to come as the four fingers made their way back in joined by the fifth, until the whole fist was inside. Itachi didn't care about pleasuring him, it was all about the pain…he could feel himself tearing as the fist moved in and out of him, blood flowed down his thighs joining the stream from his cuts…_

**(End of violent lemon/abuse)**

Kabuto jumped away as Sasuke began shaking. He'd just begun slipping three fingers into the boy, when he'd started to shake. Now he fell over, clutching his head, fists painfully pulling his hair out. Then the screaming began…raw screams with so much fear and terror in them. Kabuto tried o shut him up, but to no avail, Sasuke wasn't responding. The white haired boy quickly pulled on his clothes and ran out, leaving Sasuke there for whoever answered his screams.

* * *

Naruto was busy thinking of some way to make things better. He wondered if he should take Sasuke out tonight. They could go to the arcade or to McDonalds so he could have chicken nuggets…maybe even the movies. There had to be one movie Sasuke would like. His eyes scanned the paper and he decided that he wanted to watch The Pursuit of Happiness; Sasuke would have to bear with it.

Smiling he began making a small cup of ramen for himself. Thing would be fine…they had to be or he couldn't take care of Sasuke like he needed to. After the ramen was done he walked to the living room and sat on the couch, blushing a bit as he remembered what had happened on it the night before.

His phone rang, it was Kakashi. "uh, Naruto…I'm making my way back to your house the moment I find a bus ok? I've somehow come to the next county and I don't remember how I got here. My money's over so I might have to borrow some from you to pay the cab from the bus station to your place…"

"Uh…Kakashi…what happened to your money?"

"Um…I woke up in my boxers this morning and I needed to buy clothes…"

"Why don't you get home and I'll tell you about it."

"Okay…see you Naruto."

Naruto laughed, Kakashi really was crazy. He couldn't wait to see the man's face when he told him how he'd run out of the house behind Iruka. Oh shit…he wondered where Iruka was…

The landline rang this time and Naruto walked over to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Uzumaki-san? This is Kuri Yanagi, Sasuke's principal…."

Naruto wondered what was up now. "What is it? Another fight? Suspension? He back-answered someone?"

"Uzumaki-san, I'd rather not speak to you about this over the phone. But could you please hurry here?"

Naruto scowled. "I'll be right there…" he picked up his keys and drove down wondering what was going. He hoped against hope that Sasuke hadn't had a fight with anyone. He boy had missed loads of school what with taking care of Naruto and his numerous suspensions…he finally reached the school and parked in the visitor's lot.

He walked down the dreaded corridors again and entered the head mistresses office. Strangely Sasuke wasn't sitting in his usual seat looking sullen. The head mistress gestured for him to sit down. He frowned. "All right. So what's up?"

She hesitated and it struck Naruto then, that the ice bitch actually looked scared. A cold sense of dread seeped into him. She cleared her throat. "Uzumaki-san…half hour ago, one of our senior students found Uchiha-kun in the bathroom screaming his throat raw. He was lying on the floor, his pants down to his ankles. When we went in, he'd stopped screaming. Our nurse helped get him dressed, but he's still sitting in the bathroom, refusing to budge. We've tried everything to get him to come out, but he won't move."

She took a deep breath and continued. "He seems to have been molested…no penetration happened anywhere, but he seems to have been touched. The student who found him is under strict orders to keep it secret. None of the other students know. When Sasuke-kun recovers if he could tell us who did it, we could take severe action…"

Naruto stared at her in shock. "Where is he?"

"I'll lead you to him. And Uzumaki-san, I'm sorry but I think this was the reason Sasuke got into all those fights." She walked out quickly, almost like she was scared he'd hurt her. But Naruto didn't know what his expression was like…it was like everything was fuzzy.

The principal led him to the boy's restroom on the first floor. She opened the door to let him in…the nurse was the only other person who stood outside. It was quiet, classes were going on. Naruto stepped in to find Sasuke sitting against one of the cubicles at the end.

He looked vulnerable, with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms around them. He seemed to be staring at the wall on the other side, his face streaked with tear trails. He didn't give any sign of noticing Naruto's arrival.

Naruto sat down next to him. "Sasuke…?"

The boy didn't move, still staring at the wall. Naruto tried again but got the same reaction. He reached out very slowly in Sasuke's line of sight and grasped his shoulder. The boy flinched away, before turning to look at him.

"Sasuke…it's me, Naruto. We're going home, all right?"

Sasuke bit his lip, a frown gracing his brow. "You don't want me anymore…" his voice was harsh, if a bit shaky and the far away look hadn't left yet.

"Of course I want you. I'm your guardian I promised to take care of you, didn't I? We should go home now. You'll feel better there…" Naruto slipped his arm around Sasuke's shoulder. He knew not to bring up what had happened now. By the looks of it, Sasuke's emotions were all over the place right now.

Sasuke's lip trembled as he looked at him. Then he suddenly pressed his face against Naruto's chest. From the wetness of his shirt, Naruto knew the boy was crying, Sasuke never cried loudly. He rubbed his back soothingly, before picking him up. Sasuke was heavy, but it was not too bad. He walked out, nodding at Kuri-san and the nurse.

* * *

Naruto sat by Sasuke's bed, wondering how to handle this. He'd pushed the boy away that morning…made him feel unwanted and now when Sasuke needed him the most, he had no idea how to go about making him feel better. One thing was clear, the term end was nearing and once Sasuke completed this year, Naruto was going to think about another school for him or home schooling…he didn't want Sasuke in a place like that anymore…

"Aniki…"

Naruto looked up to see Sasuke's face scrunched up…oh gods…another nightmare. "Aniki! No!" Sasuke's voice had lowered, sounding like a child's for all his deep voice and manly demeanor. "Stop…"

Naruto reached out and shook him a bit. "Sasuke…Sasuke…calm down. Everything will be fine…"

Sasuke's eyes opened slowly and he blearily stared at Naruto. "Naruto…"

"Hey…are you ok? Do you need anything?"

"No. I'm sorry about what happened this morning. Next time I'll stop you…"

Naruto swallowed. "Sasuke…it's ok. it wasn't wrong… I… "

"Naruto…I'm sleepy. So just let me get some sleep all right. I think my share of nightmares this night is over."

"What happened at school today?" Naruto asked before he could stop himself. He wanted to get rid of the barrier that Sasuke had brought up again. After so much hard work, he'd destroyed anything they'd had in one go.

Sasuke's gaze was cold. "I said I want to sleep…" then he turned on his side and burrowed into the sheets.

Naruto stared silently at the dark haired boy's back. Shit, everything was fucking falling apart! "Sasuke, please…."

"…"

Naruto stood and walked out of his room. He didn't he'd hurt this much since his parent's died. He found Kakashi sitting on the couch, his face serious.

"How is he?"

"I'm not sure, Kakashi. This time I think I've messed up bad…really bad…"

* * *

A/N: shorter than my last chapter, but at least now the story can progress. Naruto's got an uphill task ahead of him. I'm letting you decide, Home School or Normal School? Home School will have more lemons, but Normal school will be fun too…please make your choice!

Taka

Itachi: No home schooling…and you've made me such a bastard! I thought I was your favorite character!

Taka: you are Ita-koi, and it's cause I can work with you in many ways…caring bro, bad guy, cool airhead dude…etc…and why no home schooling?

Itachi: um…because we'd never be able to do anything if they hung around all the time?

Taka: Oh….well let the reviewers decide…I'll always move us into a pent house if you want…

Itachi: cool…


	8. Reminiscing

**Thank you Zrina for beta-ing this! I love you!**

Chapter 8:

The sunlight fell across his face warming him as he sat up in bed. His eyes were shut and his head tilted back like a dark flower about to bloom. Though people always compared Sasuke to the night, the morning sunlight really made him look ethereal. For a moment Naruto couldn't take his eyes off him, that beautiful upturned face and the slender neck. He caught himself and cleared away those thoughts. Sasuke was his ward…he had to stop thinking things like that.

"Sasuke?"

The dark haired boy turned, his face completely set in that emotionless mask, the relaxed position of moments before gone. "What?"

"I've made breakfast…miso soup, rice and egg. A complete Japanese meal, so why don't you clean up and come eat?" Naruto gave him a smile, the best he could manage under these circumstances.

Sasuke contemplated it for a moment. "I'm not hungry. I'll eat later…" he wished he could go out, but the nurse at school had informed Naruto, that he was to stay in for a while…so now he was stuck in the same house as the blond, since he was only starting university next week.

"Come down anyway. We need to talk. I want to consult you about some decisions I've made. Kakashi is out and will be back in an hour or so and I want to get this done by then." He turned around and walked away, Sasuke heard his footsteps as he went down the stairs.

The raven felt his stomach plummet. By decisions did Naruto mean he was going to be sent away? A part of him wished he could be, but another part didn't want to. He had never been treated with this much care before, not even at Nawaki-san's house. He brushed his teeth and washed his face before going downstairs. Naruto was sitting at the dining table, an open book propped next to him, reading as he ate his soup. He looked up at Sasuke and gestured to the chair opposite him.

The moment Sasuke sat down; Naruto placed a bowl of soup, a bowl of rice and a plate of egg. "You can eat it if you want, if not you can heat and eat it whenever you want." Then he sat down in front of his own breakfast. His blue eyes were serious. "Sasuke…"

The raven looked up trying not to show any nervousness though he really wanted to bite his lip right now. "Tell me…" he was glad his voice came out emotionless and cold. This wasn't the time to show any emotions.

"All right. Sasuke, we…I've decided that I'm taking you out of school…"

Sasuke sighed; he wasn't being sent away….wait what? "What do you mean? My education…" His voice came out more sharply than he'd intended it to; there was a flash in Naruto's eyes.

"I am your guardian, Sasuke…I'm not an idiot. Listen to me; I want to take you out of that school. I think home schooling would be a better option for you. At least for a while. After all you've missed so much this semester and the last what with all the suspensions and what not…" Naruto stated and then sat back waiting for a reaction. Somehow he knew it wasn't going to be good.

"Home schooled? I don't want to be home schooled! I am happy in that school, okay? Just let me be; I don't want to stay here all the fucking time." Sasuke hated this. Home school was for weaklings in his opinion and he could take anything that was meted out to him.

"Mind your language." Naruto glared at the boy. Why were they back to square one? He'd thought they'd reached a point where they could finally work it out. "It's the best solution. A few months of home schooling and I'll put you back into normal school. We need to bring you up to notch, Sasuke."

"No!" he said vehemently. "No, I do not want to be stuck in this bloody house all day…"

"I've made up my mind. If you continue to behave like this, you're just making me surer of this venture." Naruto took a bite of rice and chewed. "It's a compromise…you stay here and catch up and you'll be back in school. You can say you had to take some time off, you don't have to tell them you were home schooled. And now let's move onto the next matter…"

Sasuke scowled at him. But Naruto refused to pay any attention. "The second matter. What happened yesterday and who did this to you?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. He felt so ashamed about yesterday. Stupid yesterday had been one of the worst days in his life. "That's none of your business…"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "It _is_ my business. I am going to see that guy or guys expelled. If you are not going to tell me then I'm going to call Temari and speak to Gaara. She said he knew who it was and I can ask him. I'd rather hear it from you."

"WHY? WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?" Sasuke stood up slamming his hands on the table. "You don't even care! You don't fucking care! It's my life! Why the fuck are you making life changing decisions for me? You're not even an adult yet! You're only nineteen! So stop acting like you know what's good for me! All you want is to make my life miserable!" He punctuated every word with a slam of his fist until the bowl of soup fell to the ground and shattered. He paused…"AND I don't fucking want breakfast!" The rest of the food followed the soup with the bowls smashing to pieces.

They were childish words. If Naruto was in his right mind he'd have dismissed them. But to see his mother's favorite china bowls fall to the ground and break made something snap in him. He was out of his chair in a second, Sasuke's collar in his fist, slamming the boy against the wall.

"Mind your language," he snarled. Sasuke had never seen Naruto like this; he could physically feel the aura of rage around the man. "All I've been trying to do, asshole, is care for you! I do care for you, just because I refuse to sleep with you or be comfortable with sleeping with you doesn't mean I don't care. If I found the little shit who did that to you yesterday I'd kill him. I may be nineteen but I've learnt from my mistakes and I don't want you making the same ones. I am your bloody GUARDIAN so I will and can make life changing decisions for you. I've dealt with your shit enough times, okay? I'm not making your life miserable it's the other way round. I don't have peace of mind anymore. I thought we were getting to understand each other, but it's because you fucking want me isn't it? All that niceness when I was sick was because you wanted me! You know I would have been okay with anything, but I'm not in the mood to take your bloody tantrums! So go to your room. You are grounded forever…you aren't getting out of the house forever! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

He let go of Sasuke and backed away, turning around and beginning to clear his own breakfast away. He'd lost his appetite. Sasuke swallowed feeling the hurtful words wash over him, before he ran all the way up to his room and collapsed on his bed seething with fury. He wished he could hit Naruto, that he could punch the man. He'd just accused Sasuke of being selfish and shallow enough to care for him just because he wanted him.

"I hate you…I don't want you…I wish you'd just be out of my life…." He lay here for an hour or so before he heard he doorbell. So Kakashi was back. He crept downstairs to see what was going on. He knew Naruto would complain to Kakashi about him. He knew this was childish, but he hadn't been childish in such a long time that he didn't think twice about indulging in it. After all, Sasuke was a fifteen year old. He got to the foot of the stairs and peeked in. To his surprise, Naruto was sitting next to the mess of broken ceramic and food on the floor.

The blond was holding one of the pieces of ceramic in his hands. His blue eyes looked lost, like he was somewhere else and not in that living room. Kakashi, who was on his way in, paused as he saw the blond and ran up to him. "Naruto! Naruto?" he caught the blond's shoulder and shook him a bit.

The blond looked at him for a moment, before burying his face into Kakashi's chest. Tears started to roll down his face and soft heart-rending sobs tore from him though he seemed reluctant to let them. Kakashi rubbed his back soothingly and paid attention to what he was holding.

"Naruto! That's your mom's china…what the hell happened?"

Sasuke felt his heart plummet. _His mom's china?_ He's broken something Naruto had from his parents. He felt sick; he knew how much he treasured what his parent's had given him. He hid further behind, so Kakashi wouldn't catch sight of him.

Kakashi hugged Naruto closer. "It's okay. I'm sure she wouldn't have minded. Calm down, kiddo, let's clean up and you can tell me what's wrong. You haven't cried since the time you got hit by that bike when you were in fifth grade and you had to stay in hospital for the next five days. Tell me about it, ne?"

Naruto quieted down and removed his face from Kakashi's chest. Instead of going red and blotchy all over, he just had a tad red nose and tear streaks down his face. "I messed up…again."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean messed up again?"

"Sasuke…I argued with him and then I said so many hurtful things. I slammed him against a wall, Kakashi. I was really close to beating the shit out of him. I was just so angry…I'm still so frustrated that he's pushing me out of his life." He leaned against the table. "Why do I always mess up? I messed up when mom died…that was my fault, I messed up dad's life…I messed up yours…and now Sasuke's, why the fuck can't I just be normal?"

Kakashi gripped his shoulders. "You didn't mess up. You never messed up my life. Your parents' deaths were not your fault; it's time you realized that. You were a child, how could it possibly be your fault? You were only eight years old…and with Sasuke, it's just a phase. You guys are going through a hard time and you're going to have figure it out for yourselves."

Before Naruto could answer though, Sasuke stepped out. He shot a look at Kakashi who moved away from Naruto at once mumbling something about calling Iruka. Sasuke waited till he heard Kakashi's footsteps fade away, before he bent down and slowly began to pick up the pieces of china. He did so carefully, placing them on a folded bit of newspaper until Naruto decided what to do with them. Then he brought one of the plastic bowls and started collecting the spilled rice. Thankfully, the dining area had wooden floors and not carpeting like the rest of the house, making it easier to clean it up.

Naruto brought a wet rag to mop up the remains of the soup. They worked silently. Only when the floor was clean did they both sit down right there. Sasuke looked up at the tear stains running down Naruto's cheeks and softly wiped them away. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry I'm hurting you all the time or making you angry…"

Naruto shook his head. "No, I'm sorry…I didn't know how to respond and I'm sorry for that. I'm older, I should know how to keep my temper."

Sasuke just fell into Naruto's arms and hugged him. "No, I was throwing a tantrum. I just wanted to hurt you because I was sore about yesterday. But Naruto, let's not talk about it okay? I'll tell you who it is."

Naruto sighed. "Fine, as long as you'll tell me, it's fine. Listen, Sasuke, just tell me what you want to, I won't force you again…"

Sasuke just let his head rest against Naruto's shoulder. "It was this guy called Kabuto. He keeps asking me out, but I've always said no. He kept trying to molest me…it…it brings back memories. I don't want to talk about those yet…but yesterday he just started saying random stuff like he wanted to show me how good he was and shit. It pushed me into my past…I snapped. That's it."

"Kabuto, huh?" Sasuke looked up at the low growl. There was this light in Naruto's eyes which was unfamiliar. "I'll kill the bastard. I'm glad you're safe, Sasuke…well relatively. I'm really glad…"

Sasuke let his lips curve just a tad and went back to resting his head on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto…?"

"Hmm…?"

"What happened to you? To your parents?" Sasuke pulled away and watched Naruto's face. The blond seemed to pale slowly, his eyes gaining that far away look again. Sasuke's fingers tightened of their own accord, in response to the feeling that he had to hold Naruto here that he suddenly felt. "I'm sorry, if you're not ready…"

Naruto shook his head and sighed. "I guess I'm going to have to tell you sometime and what better time than now?" he shifted, which brought him closer to Sasuke. "I was six years old then…"

_Naruto hummed the Beyblade song to himself as he walked down the path home. His house was only a few blocks away and he'd told his mother that he could do the walk on his own just for today. Everything seemed so much clearer that day, like the times when you're free from the control of your parents and even the road seems a lot more interesting. A part of him was also keeping an eye out for strangers, since he'd promised his mother he wouldn't speak to them. _

_He wondered if Kakashi-san would come home for dinner since it was an important day. He was his father's student as well as their neighbour and his mother invited him over for some 'proper' food as she called it. Suddenly someone walked up to him with a smile. Naruto smiled back, it wasn't a stranger not really. He was a man who'd come home with his dad quite a few times in the past few weeks. Naruto didn't really like him, but he was a polite boy and keep the smile on his face. _

"_What are you doing all alone, Naruto-kun?" the man asked. Naruto didn't remember his name too well…it was very long. Oro-something he thought it was._

"_I asked mommy if I could walk home alone and she said yes. Why are you here?" he asked. Naruto was always extra innocent. This was the first time he had been given any freedom. He usually didn't have too many friends and spent a lot of time studying. _

"_Well can you help me, Naruto? Your daddy's birthday is today isn't it?" Orochimaru patted the little boy on the head and smiled kindly. _

"_Yeah, it is. What do you want me to do?" _

"_Just put this in his bedroom and tell him about it when he comes back." Orochimaru gave him a small package. _

_Naruto took it and then grinned. "Will you be coming home tonight …eh…I forgot your name…" _

"_Orochimaru."_

"_Yeah, okay. Orochimaru-san, will you come home tonight? We'll have a big cake." _

"_No, Naruto-kun. But I'll see you afterwards. When is your father coming home?" _

"_By six o clock." _

"_Okay, thank you, Naruto-kun. You're a very good boy."_

_Naruto ran all the way home and put the present in his room. His mother called him in for a snack. She smiled at him; her pretty red hair framing her face in curls. "Naru-chan, let's go get Daddy's present, okay? Kakashi said he'll drive us there."_

_Naruto nodded. He loved Kakashi's car. His mother called his father and informed him that they would be back after him, she told him to get ready for the dinner they were going to. Naruto got on the phone to tell him about the package Orochimaru gave him. Then they left to pick up the painting that his father had wanted. _

_Naruto remembered that day forever with clarity. They'd picked up the present and bought some of the wine that his dad liked so much. But when they drove up, a part of his house had blown up. Naruto remembered how his mother had dropped the painting and gone running up to the police officers standing there. The house had been taped off and an ambulance and a few police cars with their lights flickering were around the place. Kakashi had held Naruto's hand throughout as his mother had talked. She'd slipped under the tape and made her way to where the ambulance was. _

_The only thing Naruto remembered about that particular moment was his mother's scream. Then she'd burst into tears. Naruto had broken away and run up to her only to be face with the charred mass of a human body. His mother was calling the corpse by his father's name. It hadn't taken long for Naruto to realize what was going on. _

_After that there had been an investigation. Once they'd found out that there had been a bomb in the package Orochimaru had given him, it had been easy. Naruto testified and Orochimaru was jailed. But his mother couldn't forgive him. Every time he looked into his mother's eyes, they were cold. Sometimes the cold hid behind looks of happiness or motherliness…but it was always there. Sometimes they would go out and she'd make him feel loved but most times she went about her own work and stayed in her own room. Naruto could never get rid of the constant guilt that plagued him. Kakashi was the only one who didn't blame him. His neighbours avoided him and their children hated him and picked on him. His life had continued like that for the next two years._

_He looked forward to the times he spent with Kakashi. The man had actually moved into the house next door when they had moved. Most days, Kakashi was the one to help him with the homework and teach him new things he could do to keep himself busy. _

_It was another day he remembered with clarity…he had a portfolio of the clarity-days. He had gone over to a classmate's home for a project. Instead of working on it they'd beaten him and bullied him. After they'd had their fun they'd thrown him out, leaving him to call his mother from a pay phone a few feet away. No one answered the phone. Finally he limped home by himself, his pride not letting him call Kakashi. Thankfully he'd taken his keys with him so he was able to slip into the house without disturbing his mother. He crept quietly up to her room and knocked. There was no answer. Naruto threw the door open in anger, wondering why his mother hated him the way she did when he'd stopped in shock. _

_All the rooms had hooks in the ceilings incase they need ceiling fans. Naruto's mother's favourite pink scarf was tight around her neck as her body hung from the ceiling. Naruto stared for a few moments taking time to process it before he ran all the way to Kakashi's house. His mother had left him too…he was all alone. Fitting for a murderer like himself, now he could go join them too. No, he would smile…his tears were gone. _

_He rang the door bell and waited until Kakashi opened the door. Then he gave the man a polite and beaming smile. "Kakashi-san, Mom hung herself in the bedroom. Her body keeps swinging," he'd said before he burst into laughter. _

Naruto sighed, Sasuke's warmth in his arms felt nice. "And then I was put into a mental institution. They said I was mentally unstable. I guess I was; I laughed as I saw her dead. I was there for two years, until I was ten by then. The court allowed Kakashi to adopt me. So we moved to Konoha. Kakashi bought that small farmhouse so we could spend the weekends away from prying eyes and hired nice farm workers who wouldn't care about my past. Those were the best times of my life. I never really made friends until high school where I met Kiba and Shika. That's when I started to meet more people and the gang started. Before I knew it, I was popular. In university no one cared about my past." He stopped and looked at Sasuke. "Yeah, so that's what happened…"

"Oh god, Naruto…" Sasuke buried his face in the crook of his guardian's neck. "I'm so sorry…"

"No, it's not your fault. You'd have only been two." He smiled a small smile. "Anyway it's the past right? I'm happy now; I'm over it…as much over it as I can be…."

Sasuke stared at him, before moving forwards to capture his lips in a tender kiss. "How can you be so happy? How can you trust other people after that? I used to envy the life you had."

Naruto smirked. "That's just how life is, Sasuke. You hurt and then you get back on your own two feet and move on. I like being optimistic and trusting people. When you let them in, even though some may hurt you, some will stick by you."

Sasuke kissed him again before pulling back. "Naruto," he whispered. "Naruto, I lo…." He was stopped as a finger came up to his lips.

"Stop. Don't say it, Sasuke." Naruto made some distance between them so he could look at Sasuke eye to eye. "Listen, I'm your guardian. We can't do that. You're only fifteen and you're going to find someone else soon, all right? Please don't ask this of me…anything but this…"

Sasuke sucked in a deep breath. He forced the words out. "Okay…I…I won't…"

Naruto gaze at him for a moment before standing up. "So, you're okay with that home school thing, right?" he asked changing the subject and speaking with a casual air.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, but only for a few months." He saw Naruto smile and walk away. He hated how he had to pretend things were different. Pretend Naruto was like a relation and never voice his feelings. He wallowed in self pity for a while and then got up. No, he had to do something about this…he wouldn't just let it go like that!

* * *

**A/N: yeah so that's it….Sasuke's past will come later. He told me he isn't ready for it yet. I had an accident today! Fell off my bike with my friend and the brake on my bike broke so I couldn't start it up again and stuff. So I had to drive to the service centre with one brake. It's a gearless motor vehicle…if you want to see a pick type 'TVS scooty pep plus' and google it in google images! Yeah well now we're ok. My bike's name is Kyuubi and he's black and silver….don't ask…ja ne**

**Taka**

**Itachi: Taka…my love you are fine!**

**Taka: sweatdrop…**

**Itachi: oh…I'm ooc aren't I?**

**Taka: nods…**

**Itachi: Hangs head before turning back into aggressive monotonous monster and carries her off!**

**Please please please please please review…..(Naruto said that…I don't beg…)**


	9. Acting

Chapter 9:

Naruto was nervous…he'd finally found a tutor who seemed qualified enough to teach Sasuke. He'd decided he'd teach the kid English and History. He rolled his shoulders a bit as he waited for the tutor. Finally he saw the tutor and waved. They walked to the house in silence, both thinking on what Sasuke would act like when they got in. Naruto opened the door and saw Sasuke sitting on the couch. He dark haired boy looked up with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto cleared his throat. "Uh…Sasuke…this is Kiba's older sister Hana…she's going to be your tutor in science and math. She's also good at computers, so she'll help you there…I've decided I'll be taking your history and English lessons…"

Sasuke frowned and bit his lip. The woman was beautiful…she had a long dark braid, red lips and two red tattoos like Kiba's. And to top it off, she was slim with what Sasuke felt were nice breasts. _How am I supposed to get Naruto with a woman like this hanging around?_ He opened his mouth to say something sarcastic when he caught the half warning and half pleading look Naruto was giving him. He settles for "Hi…"

Hana smiled tugging her braid over her shoulder. "Hey. You must be pretty bummed about the way this blond lout won't let you go to school huh? I told him that you probably would hate being cooped up at home, but he's adamant about it…"

Sasuke wondered what to say t that. Fine if Naruto wanted him to be good then he would be good. "No, I trust Naruto. In fact I was a bit happy when he told me about it…" Sasuke lied through his teeth ignoring the surprised look on Naruto's face. "He'll do what's good for me…"

Hana raised an eyebrow, before turning to Naruto. "Quite the good little boy you've raised huh? I wonder where the 'emo-bastard' side of him that Kiba described went…did you talk to him before I met him Naruto?" her eyes narrowed a bit…

Naruto grinned. "What can I say? People just change for the good when they see me walking down the street…I'd put it down to my angelic aura…"

"Yeah right they do dobe! It's mostly because they'd rather obey you and have you out of their faces faster!"

"Sasuke!"

"He does seem o be a bastard after all. Good…I hate obedient little boys. Let's set up some timings, I have to go soon." Hana plonked herself down on an armchair and pulled out a little diary.

"Why? You have a date?" Naruto asked.

"No. and it's none of your business whether I do or not…"

"Aww…don't hide it from me! Beautiful vets like you would always be asked out." Naruto's face went into pout form with a touch of curiosity lingering.

"Is that a hint? Do you want to go out with me Naruto? I'm two years older than you!" Hana smirked.

"Who cares about age? I prefer older women… so how about it huh beautiful?"

"Well if you guys are done flirting, or in Naruto's case a pathetic _attempt_ at flirting, can we get those timings down?" Sasuke glared at the two of them, quelling the urge to punch Naruto. "I need o know how much free time I'm going to get…you know for girls, dating, making out and the works…"

Naruto looked up at him suddenly, a strange look flitting across his face for a second. Then he grinned. "Finally you're growing up…I used to think you were asexual. And FYI I do now how to flirt…I'm extremely good at it!"

Sasuke just shrugged. "So says the man who practices talking to girls in front of the mirror all day…now Hana-san, where were we? Let's just ignore the moron and get on with this all right? And by the way, you're right, I hate being stuck home all the time, so please make this bearable for me."

They got most of the timings done. Sasuke would study for about four hours in a day, beginning with Naruto taking two hours in the morning and Hana taking two hours in the afternoon with an extra hour for computers. Sasuke could do anything he wanted as long as he came home by ten every night.

The next few weeks were irritating for Sasuke. He couldn't help but like Hana. She was fun and jovial; she made his lessons very interesting. She even gave him a job at her clinic so he could earn his own money and feel a bit freer. Unfortunately, all this appealed to Naruto as well, which made him persist in asking her out. Finally to Sasuke's horror, Hana agreed to a date. Within the next week they were dating…it was obvious, how could anyone resist Naruto when he was at his best, not to mention he was gorgeous. It was at times like these Sasuke keenly felt his world breaking apart.

* * *

"Careful there…hold it at this angle and gently…he'll peck you otherwise." Hana instructed as she tried to set the peregrine falcon's leg. Someone had found it on the road and brought it to her.

Sasuke did as he was told. He loved working here, he'd learnt loads about animals and it had always been Sasuke wish to have a dog. This place had so many dogs he would have lived in the clinic forever. He waited for Hana to bind it up and then carried the falcon to a nice big cage.

Hana looked at him for a minute. "Sasuke...you've been looking really down lately. Is anything the matter?"

Sasuke looked up, suddenly feeling horrible that he wanted to take Naruto away from her. "No, nothing…I'm just feeling down. It kind of happens sometimes…"

Hana smiled. "Come on, let's go get you some nuggets and cheer you up…"

Sasuke suddenly felt mad. It wasn't okay! It wouldn't cheer him up. It was fucking horrible that Naruto was head over heels in love with Hana, when he knew that it would hurt Sasuke. Fuck it… "No. I want to be alone…I'm heading out. But thanks…"

Hana stared at him for a minute and then nodded. "Sure…will you be going home for dinner? Naruto said he might make pasta…"

Sasuke shook his head. "No…I won't. I need to clear my head for a while. I'll just hang out somewhere. So…you're coming home for dinner?"

Hana ignored something that made her feel that Sasuke didn't want her meeting Naruto for dinner. "Yeah I am…"

"Cool. See ya around then…" Sasuke walked out and took in deep bouts of fresh air. Nothing could go more wrong. Was it really difficult to just not love Naruto and move on?

He kept walking until he reached a park in some far away neighbourhood. Finding a swing he sat down and swung for a while. He didn't want to go home. He didn't want to see Naruto and Hana together. He didn't want to hate the two people he respected the most just because one of them wouldn't love him back. He just wanted to stay away…this was a time when he wished he actually had friends….people whose houses he could stay over at when things got like this.

If it wasn't for bloody Kabuto, maybe he could have had friends. He phone buzzed; glancing at the caller-id he saw it was Naruto. He didn't pick up, but just let it ring itself out. He went to sit under and tree and leaned back against it. He didn't know when it had started to rain, maybe he'd fallen asleep? He checked his watch. Yeah well he'd definitely fallen asleep, it was half past nine and he'd gotten here at six.

He stood and stretched. Better get moving, Naruto would ground him if he didn't get home on time. He stopped at a bakery and picked up a bagel. He didn't care that it had started to pour now, he was already soaked, what did it matter? It was as he walked past the alley that he heard the whine. He stepped in and looked behind the trash can. He found two tiny brown eyes stare back at him. It was a puppy…about less than a month old, shivering in the rain. Its eyes hadn't even opened properly yet.

"Hey little guy…" Sasuke gently picked the tiny thing up and cradled it. It was much too young to be out alone. Sasuke tucked it under his soaking jacket and began to run. Maybe if he made it in time Hana would still be there. He unlocked the door, not caring that it was half past ten and Naruto would be mad.

"Hana! Hana! Are you still here?" he burst into Naruto's bedroom barely being attention to the fact that he'd walked in on them kissing. He just looked a little relieved. "Oh…good. Look I need your help…" he brought out the cold shivering little puppy and dropped it into Hana's hands.

"Oh no, the poor baby. Sasuke, go get me some warm blankets and a box…Naruto heat up half a glass of milk and add quarter glass of water to it. Oh and bring a towel too Sasuke!" Hana wiped the little thing gently and wrapped it up in some blankets. Then she tipped spoonfuls of milk into its mouth gently, until it turned away and fell asleep.

Sasuke watched with bated breath. Hana smiled at him. "You'll have to feed it every now and then. Make sure it's warm, toilet train it…lots of stuff…will you be able to handle it?"

Sasuke nodded and lightly stroked its head. Suddenly hands grabbed him. He turned to see Naruto. "Sasuke, you're soaking wet. Get into some warm clothes and dry your hair right now!"

Sasuke nodded and disappeared into his room. Hana watched him leave, a concerned frown on her face. "He doesn't seem alright Naruto…he's acting like he's lost a girlfriend or something. Do you have any idea what's going on?"

Naruto clamped down on the wave of guilt he felt. He had no right to feel guilty…he was Sasuke guardian….he wasn't the one who tried to get into bed with him. "No, Hana. I have no idea…he'll get over it though, it must have been a small crush…"

Hana glanced at him suspiciously. She'd known Naruto since high school and that was his I-know-something-but-I-won't-tell voice. She sighed; she wished she could just get to the bottom of this whole situation. She smiled as Sasuke sauntered back in. "Here, take the pup to your room, so you can care for him more easily. What are you going to call him?"

"Watson…it's a fun name for a dog." Sasuke smiled a bit. "Yeah, I'll get to bed I think, I'm really tired. You guys have fun…"

Luckily for him he fell asleep fast enough. This time though dreams of the blond didn't plague him as much and nor did the nightmares. He woke up around one a.m. He found Naruto standing by his bed. He blinked.

"Naruto…"

The blond sat down next to him. "Are you okay? You're looking so down, even Hana noticed…" One could always hope that the problem was not related to him.

Sasuke frowned. "You know what it's about! You told me not to talk about it, so why don't you just get lost?"

Naruto looked a little hurt. "Why is it taking you this long to get over it? To get over the fact that you can't have me…?"

"You can't be that oblivious! You're with Hana now! You asked her out right after I told you! You don't even want to give me a chance, because you've got that bloody guardian-ward notion in your head." He sprung up suddenly and pulled Naruto's lips down onto his. The kiss came out a bit clumsier than he wanted, but he didn't give up. But for Naruto it was a different experience. Somehow he didn't want Sasuke to stop, just having Sasuke's lips on his felt so good…so…right. He stopped that thought and shoved Sasuke away.

"Stop it!"

"You wanted it! You kissed back!" Sasuke glared at him. "You're just in denial! Just get lost Naruto! I want to get back to bed. Go be with Hana!" He watched the blond leave without a word. Falling back onto his pillows he sighed. Naruto had come in to see if he was okay and he'd jumped him again. The dumb blond refused to give him a chance!

* * *

**One year later:**

Sasuke was finally back at school. The home-schooling had gone on and on until Naruto'd finally found a school which he could attend properly. Matsumoto Private School was fun. There was a good mix of kids there and it seemed like they wouldn't be hard to get along with. It was his second week there and he was beginning year twelve. He was almost seventeen now. When he'd met Naruto he'd been halfway through fifteen. He liked grade twelve, Hana and Naruto had taught him so well, the work load seemed very easy. But after all that time, he still loved Naruto. And Naruto was still dating Hana.

Sasuke made his way to the garden outside. Naruto had sent him chicken nuggets. He'd been thinking over the Naruto problem and trying to figure out how he could be sure of what Naruto wanted. He sat down on a nice shady spot and stared gloomily into the horizon…or the bit of horizon he could see between the buildings. If only he was older…

"Hey there…"

He looked up to see a dark haired girl smiling at him. He scowled. "What do you want?"

"Well nothing actually. I just saw you sitting here looking morose and wondered if I could help!" the girl sat down on the swing next to his. "I'm Karin by the way…those two guys over there are Suigetsu and Jiroubo. You're new aren't you? We've seen you brooding all week!"

"And I want you to leave and let me brood in peace."

"No. I don't think anyone should be allowed to brood in peace. Come on, tell me what's wrong. It's good to tell a stranger…I don't know anyone you know and vice-versa…maybe a third person perspective will help?" Karin began to swing lightly.

"Go away!"

"Not till you tell me what's wrong!" she continued to persist for the next twenty minutes making comments about idiots in love and such like until Sasuke finally lost it.

"Fine! I'm in love with my guardian okay? He's four years older than me and refuses to give me chance though I can see he's attracted to me! It's not a bloody infatuation. I've felt this way for a year or so! He's the only who's treated me with any respect or real caring! I wish he'd bloody stop being in denial, the dobe! Are you happy? Now can you leave?" Sasuke bared his teeth.

"No I don't want to leave. So you really love this dude but he doesn't even want to give you a chance? For a year?" Karin shook her head. "No wonder…"

"What? What do you mean no wonder?"

"Well look at you? You're a handsome boy, but when I see you outside of school and not in uniform, you're always dressed so prissy, full sleeve shirts and pants and stuff….and even loose t-shirts once…tell me is this guy of yours mostly straight?"

Sasuke nodded. "And I like the way I dress…"

"Well I'm willing to help you get him. I know just the way you can…all you have to do is agree to it." Karin held out her hand. "In return my friends and I would like it if you spent some time with us, maybe we'll perk you up a bit?"

Sasuke contemplated it. "Fine. Deal. Now what do you have in mind?"

* * *

The next few months Karin had taken him to the gym and worked him hard. Sasuke never knew anyone could have six packs in two months, but maybe if the gym instructors pushed like Karin had, they would. Hana still lived at her own place…she'd refused Naruto's offer to move into their bachelor pad. She proffered her own place. She usually talked Naruto around to his disappearances. (the times he went to the gym with Karin in secret.) The secret was to work out without Naruto realising.

Suigetsu and Karin went out shopping with him and picked up good clothes. Finally Karin deemed he was ready, even though she still insisted he went to the gym.

Sasuke looked at himself in the mirror and adjusted his clothes…he still wasn't as comfortable as he used to be in them. Then he added just a line of eyeliner to accent his eyes and walked out. Karin said she'd be his date for the night. He checked that he looked okay and then went down the stairs. Naruto and Hana were in the living room watching a movie together.

Naruto heard Sasuke come down the stairs and wondered where Sasuke was going at seven in the evening. He looked up and his jaw dropped. Sasuke was wearing a sleeveless maroon v-neck t-shirt and tight black leather pants. The dark colours showed off his pale skin perfectly. And were those biceps? When had Sasuke shaped up so well, the t-shirt clung to him showing off his abs. When Sasuke walked towards him and flopped onto the couch, Naruto couldn't help but look at the hard abs that showed when the t-shit rode up.

"Dobe… ?" Sasuke smirked sexily.

Naruto met his eyes quickly. "Where are you going?"

"Party at Kisaka's house. Karin said she'd be my date for the night. I might be back really late…" Sasuke stood as the doorbell rang. _Great timing Karin!_ "Yeah so I guess I'll leave now…how do I look?"

Hana smiled. "Gosh who'd have thought you could be this hot Sasuke? You're going to break a few hearts tonight…" Sasuke smiled and went to get Karin.

Karin looked really pretty in her spaghetti top and fishnets with a mini skirt. She looked at Sasuke's ass appreciatively as she walked in. "You look sexy…"

Naruto tried to smile as Karin wrapped her arms around Sasuke from behind. He failed miserably at achieving the perfect smile….he fell a few million yards short. "Yeah…"

Karin grinned mischievously. "Aren't I lucky to have him as a date? Everyone, even the guys will want him….maybe you should go with Suigetsu at the next party…if I don't claim you tonight…"

Sasuke turned and led her out. He stopped and smirked at Naruto. "Ja, I'm taking the house keys so go ahead and get to bed."

Naruto watched him leave….a weird feeling in his gut. A wave of something…maybe jealousy rose in his gut, but he squished it down instantly. He forced a smile at Hana who cuddled up to him, still thinking about how good Sasuke looked in that maroon v-neck. No one had ever looked so jumpable in Naruto's eye. He wished Sasuke had never gotten back to school…it was just so much easier when the boy stuck to formal or baggy clothes.

The rest of the night passed with Naruto wondering what his ward was up to. If Hana noticed anything, she didn't' mention it. Naruto was unusually quiet, he did everything mechanically, he bade goodbye to Hana and finally went up to bed at midnight. Sasuke hadn't returned yet. Sleep didn't come easily, but it did finally slip in. It was an uneasy sleep.

He heard something a sudden thudding. He leaped out of bed and opened his door listening. It was coming from the vicinity of the living room. He wondered if Sasuke was back and went down quickly, silently. He was about to greet Sasuke when he stopped short. Sasuke was half lying on the couch with Karin leaning over him; their mouths were locked in a sensual kiss. He absorbed every minor detail or the way Sasuke tongue was trailing over Karin's lips as they broke apart and how Sasuke's tongue entered her mouth. It was nothing like the way Sasuke had kissed him; it was a smooth practiced kiss. This meant Sasuke had had lots of practice…which meant Sasuke was finally moving on. Something thudded painfully in Naruto. His mouth clicked shut hard, bringing the two on the couch back to reality.

"Naruto?" Sasuke mumbled. Naruto could see his perfect lips a little swollen and his dark eyes still had a slightly dazed look in them. Sasuke looked so perfect and molestable…Karin was doing just that.

Naruto stared at them and then turned away, walking back to his room. This time he did nothing to quell the tsunami of jealousy that threatened to overcome him.

* * *

A/N: yeah I known sudden time skip but I didn't see the need to keep writing that year when nothing was going to happen. And well people...life has caught up with me and I don't think I'll be able to update as fast as I used to...some of my stories will be going on a hiatus to give me a break, ok? The Guardian and Irreplaceable might be kept going...I don't know. Please support me in this because I am trying hard but I really don't have time!

Taka


	10. Trying

**A/N: weird chapter….I have no idea what I've written. Feed back would be good… tried hard with the grammar but I'm really sorry I don't have the time to edit this though I do edit pretty good!**

Chapter 10:

Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw Naruto walk away. He pushed Karin off and made to follow, but she held him back. He whirled around glaring at her. "I have to tell him! It's not what he thinks it is!"

"No. Stop it! He was angry and that's _good_!" Karin smiled at him. "He doesn't know we aren't going out! And he doesn't seem as happy as he thought he'd be!"

Sasuke shot her a look but then sat back down beside her. Karin patted his shoulder. "Sasuke, you're a bastard at heart! Make use of that! I want you to _swagger_, develop some _backbone_! Why don't you get it? Naruto might be your guardian and the love of your life and all, but you have a life of your own! You don't have to dance to his tune all the time! And you need this too…not to make Naruto jealous, but just for you. This is to make _you_ more confident and happy." She stood up and brushed her lips against his. "We ain't done with you yet. You're going with Suigetsu day after and he'll teach more about kissing…"

Sasuke watched her leave and stood to shut the door after her. It made sense though…how long was he going to kowtow to Naruto just because he liked him? Didn't Naruto like Hana for hr spirit and backbone? He thought about the past year and a half…he'd been such a sulky, moody baby! No wonder Naruto couldn't look at him like an adult! Yes…he had to grow up!

Watson had come downstairs…he had his own doggy room, but he always knew when Sasuke was down in the dumps. He followed Sasuke who made his way to his room, the internal rant in his head picking up more speed and fuelling a whole lot of determination. He stopped for a moment at Naruto's door, but he couldn't hear a thing. He went back into his own room and flopped down on the bed, the dog flopped down beside his bed. Sasuke was still While kissing Karin had been fun, kissing Naruto was so much better. He wondered if letting Karin teach him how to kiss had been a good idea…Naruto walking in on them hadn't been part of the plan. But then again, wasn't Naruto always spouting bull shit about adapting to any situation? Well then it was a good thing…he'd adapt what Naruto had seen to this situation.

Sasuke leaned into his pillow, pulling the blankets around him in a cocoon. What happened would happen and things with Naruto would be sorted for better or for worse. Right now Sasuke was too tired to change let alone think about it. He knew he'd be uncomfortable in the morning; sleeping in these clothes.

* * *

Naruto was struggling to keep himself calm. He'd told himself a million times throughout the night that h really didn't care that Sasuke had kissed Karin. _Yeah right…_ok…that was his conscience which kept popping up to remind him that self deception was _not_ a good course to follow. Every time that picture of them kissing popped up, (which was all the fucking time) he felt waves…literally _waves_ of anger and jealousy…which in turn spiked the guilt he felt. He shouldn't be jealous over Sasuke!

"You know what? I'm _not_ jealous! This is that mother hen feeling…you know the one where I feel like I'm losing him because I have to let go…all adults face this as their children grow up…" Naruto smiled at himself in the mirror.

Then his conscience popped up again and said '_Firstly…you're no mother nor are you an adult! And secondly…you're just trying to fool yourself into believing your own bull shit…'_ and then Naruto firmly booted his conscience to the back to his mind and glared at his mirror. He glanced at the clock and decided to wake Sasuke up.

He made his way to his ward's room and tried to calm down before he entered. Upon opening the door, (after fifteen minutes of glaring at it and beating it into submission…however that was possible) he found Sasuke…still in his leather pants, sprawled out on the bed. The maroon shirt had ridden up exposing those washboard abs and perfect six packs, that Sasuke had magically (according to Naruto) acquired.

Naruto found his eyes riveted to the creamy skin, stretched over hard muscle…it made him want to run his hands all over it. It was only Watson's wet nose burrowing into his foot that made him yelp and come back to his senses. He shook his head hard for good measure and grasped Sasuke's should, shaking him. The dark haired boy shifted and groaned.

"Piss off Karin…I'm sleepy!" Sasuke wondered why the girl wouldn't let him sleep…he'd been working out for so long!

Naruto felt all that rage come back again and grip him like a vice. He'd said 'Karin'… he was on his mind even when slept! What the hell? He shook him harder. "Sasuke! Wake up!"

The younger boy shifted and opened his eyes blearily. "Naruto? Is it morning all ready?"

"Yeah, get up. Bathe, dress and come get your breakfast." Naruto said, in a clipped voice before disappearing downstairs. Watson followed him and was rewarded with dog chow. He headed for the kitchen to make some scrambled eggs and toast. He hoped Sasuke would come down quickly…he had to finish some work for Uni. It was half an hour to forty five minutes before the dark haired boy came down. Naruto was fuming…just because Sasuke had a holiday didn't mean that Naruto didn't have work. And it was a Friday damn it! Naruto wanted to get it done with so he could relax.

Sasuke liked his eggs with ketchup, so he added a generous amount of it. Mixing his eggs up, he began to eat. He didn't even bother to look up or apologize like he would normally do. He had nothing to say to Naruto. The blond watched him for a while.

"You were in really late last night…"

Sasuke barely glanced at him focused on his own thoughts and the food he was eating. "Hm? I did tell you I'd be late…that's why I asked you to give me my own set of keys remember?"

Naruto frowned. "Look at me when you speak to me! And I don't know if you going to parties is okay…I mean…what if you had another one of those attacks?"

"Oh please Naruto…I haven't had one of those in ages. If I do, Karin or Suigetsu will be there to help." Sasuke looked up and carelessly met Naruto's eyes. "And I like partying its fun. Yesterday we danced from the time we go there all the way to the end. The only annoying bit was these fan girls…and some fan boys, who wouldn't leave me alone. Karin had to chase them away! Don't worry though…I didn't get drunk or anything…though I hope to change that with the party tomorrow night. Suigetsu will be my date for then…"

Then Sasuke stood and stretched. "Hey I'm going to Juugo's house. The gang's meeting up there…I might bring them back here. We have a project or something…"

Naruto sat still watching Sasuke grab his coat and walk out. Somehow Sasuke seemed so distant these days…before it used to be Naruto who used to be the centre of his world. The blond felt left out…he felt…lonely. He shook the thought off. He shouldn't be feeling lonely. At least not right now. He decided to get his work done and shoved Sasuke thoughts to the back of his mind. He turned to Watson.

"I'm leaving now so you better be good…one speck of drool and no doggy chow for you!"

* * *

Hana finished stuffing the chicken and turned to Naruto who was frowning at his bowl of cream. The blond's mood had seemed to be getting worse and worse over the past few days. They were cooking for Sasuke and his gang now, they'd come over again. She felt pleased that Sasuke had friends…the boy had blossomed and seemed so confident and happy. She saw that Naruto still hadn't done anything but stare into the bowl.

"Naruto do plan to finish whipping that cream today?"

The blond jerked out of his stupor. "Uh…yeah."

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing! Just leave me alone will you Hana? You've asked me that same bloody question about 20 times!" Naruto started to whip the cream annoyed.

Hana frowned. "Don't snap at me, I'm just concerned." She pursed her lips as Naruto said nothing. He just looked even more sullen.

Sasuke stepped in holding a few coffee mugs. He'd had fun; Gaara had come over too, so it was a pretty big get together. He stopped short as the tense air enclosed him. He looked at Naruto murderously whipping the cream and at Hana who was shoving the chicken into the grill.

"What's going on, you guys?"

Naruto didn't deign to answer. Hana forced a smile. "Naruto's just being a big baby…"

Before Sasuke could say anything, Naruto turned to her with a snarl. "I AM IN A BAD MOOD! And you're not making it any better with your nagging! Why can't you just let me brood…and leave Sasuke out of this ok? Humour with me being the butt of it isn't going to cheer me up!"

Hana lamed the grill door shut. "I am going out for a bit. I have no patience with you and your fucking bad mood has been going on for weeks. I expect you to have cheered up a bit before I get back!"

She walked out leaving a gaping Sasuke staring at a fuming Naruto. The raven set the mugs down in the sink and turned to the blond. "Naruto?"

"What? I'm no going to apologize, if that's hat you want me to do." Naruto shoved the bowl aside and got down a tin of maraschino cherries. He turned to Sasuke, the anger with Hana held back just enough to make his look softer. "Go back to your friends Sasuke…"

Sasuke made his way back to his room upstairs. Naruto had jut gotten him a X-Box 360, so Suigetsu and Karin were competing all the time. Sasuke wondered if they could ever get together, though they did molest him a lot. When he entered, he saw Juugo separating the two and Gaara looking a tad bit amused with Watson next to him watching with interest... Karin had her hands around Suigetsu's neck.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Karin attacked Suigetsu because he called her a whore…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and picked up the fallen controls. He asked Gaara to play with him, but his mind was on Hana and Naruto. He'd never seen them this mad at each other before, though they had been bickering for a long time now. Before he knew it he heard Naruto calling them down to dinner. And Sasuke's playing had sucked because he was unable to think of anything else…

They went downstairs to see Hana and Naruto laying the table. Sasuke knew at once that their smiles were fake, pasted on firmly. They all sat down and immediately Hana and Naruto began to converse with the guests. They hardly even looked at each other.

Hana though, was keeping a subtle eye on Naruto. She really had no idea what was going wrong…it was then she noticed how Naruto tensed when he talked to Karin or Suigetsu. Nor did she miss the way her boyfriend's eyes constantly flicked towards Sasuke. She could see Naruto was trying not to look at Sasuke but there was no mistaking it.

As she began to pay attention, many more things came to light. She also caught the looks Sasuke sent towards Naruto when he thought no one was watching. The boy's apathetic mask slid off when he looked at the blond, his eyes softened completely and a small almost smile appeared on his lips. She watched them both a while longer until her stomach dropped…everything clicked into place.

Naruto's anxiety, Sasuke's moods, Naruto's dismissals and Sasuke's depression. Hana looked at the blond who was looking away from his ward with steadfast determination. They were in love…and Naruto was in denial! Oh God….

Karin's voice caught Hana's attention. The girl was looking at her a little concerned. "Could you pass the chicken please, Hana?"

Karin wondered why the woman suddenly looked so pale. She didn't miss the sharp breath Hana drew in as she passed the chicken. She just smiled at the older woman. "Thank you…"

Hana wanted to ask Naruto…ask him out right about what was going on…but she wanted Sasuke and his gang to leave first. She watched how Suigetsu kept trying to engage Naruto in conversation, but seemed to be failing miserably…mostly because he had a hand on Sasuke thigh and was leaning over the boy to talk to Naruto. She saw how Naruto glared at Karin when she wasn't looking. She also saw the slightly worried looks Sasuke was shooting at her and Naruto. She smiled and shook her head at the boy.

Why didn't Sasuke hate her? If she guessed right then Sasuke was in love with Naruto long before she came along…before she stole the blond right out from under Sasuke's nose. Bu she hadn't known! She wondered if Naruto had known that Sasuke was in love with him…Hana made up her mind to talk about it tonight. She would get the truth tonight.

Sasuke left with the gang after dinner. They were going to hang out together at the park for a while and then go home. Hana and Naruto had retired to the kitchen to do the washing up. The kids had helped for a while but Hana had shooed them out and told them to go enjoy themselves. But now she had no idea how to begin the conversation. She took a deep breath and licked her lips…the tension from before was back.

"Naruto…" he didn't dare turn and ace him yet. "You're in love with him aren't you?"

Naruto, who'd been cleaning one of the fruit salad bowls, almost dropped it. It clanged against the sink. He picked it up and went on wiping it like nothing was wrong. "I don't know what you mean…"

Hana turned around at that, a weird expression a mix of anger and sadness on her face. "You know perfectly well what I mean. You're in love with Sasuke aren't you?"

Naruto just laughed. "Hana…wherever did you get that idea? He's my ward…I do love him; I'm not _in_ love with him. I mean really…is this because we had that argument earlier? Come Hana, you know I love you…why would you…."

"Stop it." Hana's fingers clenched on the counter. Her voice was still calm. "Please Naruto, I'm not stupid. I know you love me. I do. But you're IN love with Sasuke, aren't you? Don't try to convince me otherwise…it's like you're trying to convince _yourself_. Please just tell me the truth…I want to know…did you know Sasuke is in love with you?"

Naruto put the bowl aside and gestured to the living room. They sat down, him on the couch and her on the armchair with the dog at her feet. He fidgeted a little. "I…had an idea…well you see…" and then he told her all that had happened before he'd found her. Since Sasuke had told her bits of the school incident with Kabuto, everything Naruto told her finally clicked into place. She was silent for a while.

Naruto sighed. "I didn't try to use you. You have to know that. I just cannot fall in love with Sasuke. And you know what? Usually it works. You transfer attention to someone else and the other love goes away…it does! I can't Hana…he's my ward. He's too young…and knowing me…I'll fuck it up."

There wasn't anything she could say to that really. "You know Naruto…whether you wan to love him or not, that's something you have to decide. And well maybe you're right…maybe Sasuke doesn't love you anymore…maybe it was a phase. But then again, you have to figure that out. Thanks for telling me. You will understand won't you, if I want to break up?"

Naruto nodded, he looked up surprised when Hana kissed him. Then she smiled. "I'm not mad at you kiddo…yeah it'll take a while for me to get past this, but I'll be back to make your life hell at some point…but I'm going now ok?"

He walked her to the door. "I'm sorry…"

Hana shook her head. "It happens to all of us kiddo…if you need me I'll still be around Naruto…" then she revved up her car and left. Naruto shut the door and looked at the empty house. He had never felt this lonely. He ruffled Watson's head.

"We'll miss her, won't we boy? Oh well…there goes another relationship…"

Hana parked her car someway off and leaned into the steering wheel. Then she let herself cry it all out. Once she was sure she was done, she straightened and drove back with a smile on her face. She hoped Sasuke would finally get what he wanted.

* * *

Sasuke waved to the rest and made his way back home. He wondered if Hana was still there and if they'd both made up. Actually he felt really confused. He liked Hana a lot…she was a really great person…but he still wanted Naruto. Sometimes when he caught Naruto looking at him he'd feel horrible for taking his attention away from someone like Hana. But he did love Naruto…he couldn't help it.

He adjusted his jacket and pulled it a little closer to him, it was getting quite cold. Winter would be upon them soon…the year had passed so quickly. He opened the door and made his way into the hall. Naruto was lying on the couch, thinking of something.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he petted Watson who was all over him.

The blond turned looking tired. "Hm? Oh…hey Sasuke…"

The dark haired boy looked at him a bit worried. "So where's Hana? Did you guys sort things out?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah we did…um…would you like some hot chocolate? I could do with some…"

Sasuke tried to will away the feeling of foreboding and disbelief that was slowly looming up in him. "Yeah sure…"

Naruto went to the kitchen and go out two mugs. He added all the necessary things into it and dumped them into the microwave. Once they were done he handed one to Sasuke. They sat on the couch and stared at the blank TV screen, each one absorbed in their own thoughts. Naruto contemplating his next move and Sasuke still wondering what had happened with Hana o put Naruto into a mood like this one.

The thing was that Naruto wanted to just talk to Sasuke about it all. But then again, what was he supposed to say? He was sure that Sasuke didn't like him still…no Hana was wrong…Naruto was in love Sasuke but he didn't know if it was just lust or love…. He did like him a lot though and that was the truth. He was attracted to Sasuke more than ever and that was also the truth. So what was he to do?

"Naruto…you haven't answered my question about Hana…she was supposed to talk to me about Watson's next set of injections…" Sasuke said, burying his hands into Watson's deep black fur.

"She said she'll talk to you later." Naruto tried concentrating more on the TV.

"Just tell me what the fuck happened…"

"We broke up all right?" Naruto frowned, fine then, he couldn't drag it out any longer.

Sasuke stared at Naruto feeling joy and sadness at the same time. It must have shown because the blond raised an eyebrow. "You did? I'm sorry…"

"You sure about that? You look pretty relieved…happy even…" Naruto heaved a sigh. "All right then…just hear me out. I like you Sasuke…I love you but I don't know if I'm in love with you. I am attracted to you and I cannot deny it any longer. But I'm confused…I have no idea what you want…not anymore at least. This might not be the right time since Hana and I just broke up, but she's right…I have to do this sooner or later..."

Naruto smiled then…a tired but genuine smile. "So what says you, I take you out tomorrow? There's this new restaurant a few blocks away I want to try it…shall we make it a date?"

* * *

**A/N: **

**If that seemed awkward it was meant to be…I'm sick of writing stuff where Naruto suddenly comes around and declares undying love.**

**That seemed like a good place to end it…so Naruto asked him out…I just hope you get the complex feelings here. Naruto wants to make sure this thing he has will be ok for them both and not just a fling. Whatever….I have no idea what I'm writing!**

**Ja na**

**Taka**

**Please review…I spent four hours thinking this up and writing it continually just for you!**


	11. Drowning

**Chapter dedicated to Darkalbino, Rasengan22, Jelp and loads of other writers who've fired up my muse and who have given me the needed inspiration to write this chapter. And thanks to all my previous reviewers, I love you all. **

**MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**Chapter 11:**

"No."

Naruto blinked. Had he heard right? "What?"

Sasuke sighed. "Listen Naruto…I like you too. The thing is I have no idea if you _really_ like me. How do I know this isn't just feelings of jealousy on your part? I mean my feelings have been staring you in the face for a year and a half, but you only show interest because you saw me with Karin or Suigetsu or something. How am I supposed to know this is for real?"

Naruto had nothing to say to that. He only knew that whatever Sasuke was saying hurt. And yeah he had been a fool…but then Sasuke was right. "You're right…in a way. I'm still confused. So here's the deal then…you decide…I want to know what you want and I'll go along with it if it's feasible."

Watson wagged his tail as the tension between his masters calmed a bit. He clambered onto the couch, making his owners groan or yell and shifted until he was comfortable…with his ass on Sasuke's lap and his head on Naruto's. They let him stay there though, they muttered quite angrily about it. And then Naruto smiled at Sasuke.

"And Sasuke…I want you to know though I'm confused….I do really like you…"

And though Sasuke didn't show it, it felt like finally the sun was shining again. "Ok then. Here's what I think we should do…I think…and I cannot believe I'm saying this…I think we should take it slow for now. Just go with the flow you know…not force anything."

Naruto nodded and then his face turned a little serious. "Sasuke…no one must know. If they figure out, then they won't let you stay here. You know that ne?"

"Yeah. But Karin and Suigetsu should know. Gaara too. They've been advising me about things and helping me…" Sasuke smiled at Naruto, a nice full blown smile that made the blond's breath hitch in his throat. "And Naruto, since you said it's all up to me…here goes. Tomorrow when I return after school, I want you to give me the best date possible. Something fun which you think we should do. Nothing cliché…just something for me. I may sound selfish, but what the hell? I'd be glad to know what you come up with…"

Naruto nodded. "Good…now can we just go to bed? It's been this fuck long day…"

Sasuke just smirked and nodded. He stood up intending to go upstairs when Naruto caught his wrist and stood up too. He bent down to brush his lips against Sasuke's. "Goodnight then…"

Sasuke looked a little shocked but then he nodded. "Yeah…see you in the morning dobe…"

* * *

Naruto woke up for the first time in days feeling peaceful. He had a date to plan…he groaned and fell back onto the bed. What would be special? Maybe he should just let fate guide him? But then that sounded like a very Neji thing to do…could he be losing his identity? No…he stopped there…he was thinking too much. One day of letting fate guide him couldn't turn him into Neji…which was good because Sasuke liked _him_ right…not Neji….so basically Sasuke wouldn't like him if he was like Neji…gah!

He let it go and clambered out of bed and got to making breakfast for his charge. He made some scrambled egg and mayonnaise sandwiches not being the mood to cook right now and not knowing if he'd have to cook later…he placed all of it on the table and made for the stairs to work his brunet up…when he bumped into said brunet coming down the stairs.

"Oh…hey…"

Sasuke stretched and nodded. "Breakfast?"

"Is food all you can think about?"

Sasuke looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Ok…what do you think I should be thinking about?"

"Um…well…breakfast is ready…."

Sasuke shook his head. What a dobe…

After that they east breakfast together in a peaceable silence. Sasuke got ready for school and started to leave. He stopped at the front door to pin Naruto with a look. "I expect a good date, dobe…or I might not like you back…" he grinned and shut the door behind him, quelling the urge to run own the driveway laughing gleefully like a maniac.

Naruto sighed and rubbed his head. Deciding that ready the newspaper was a better thing to do than brood about this date. Skimming through the events that were happening he suddenly stopped wide eyed. No way…he read through the whole thing again and then frowned. He stood up and made a phone call and nodded with satisfaction. Then he got down to the long process of planning and arranging this date.

It was almost time for Sasuke to return (around seven in the evening, he had schoolwork) when Naruto went to his closet and surveyed the clothes there. He needed something warm and sexy…he rummaged around and found a blue Adidas T and his old black trimmed in orange hoodie. Pulling them on to go with grey washed out jeans; he spiked his hair out a bit and smirked at himself in the mirror. He heard the door open and went out to greet Sasuke.

"Yo..."

Sasuke stared at him for a full minute and then looked away. "Where we going?"

"You'll see. Go change and bring a hoodie or something ok?"

An hour later, a very hungry Sasuke and an extremely cheerful Naruto were speeding down the highway. Sasuke constantly asked about where they were going.

"Look, Uchiha…" Naruto calling him that sounded grown up and Sasuke felt a thrill going down his spine. "You asked me to give the best date I possibly could. Now considering that this is our first date, I doubled my efforts. So please…sit back, enjoy and prepare to be amazed.

To Sasuke surprise they pulled off the road into the gate of what looked like an aeroplane hangar. Naruto pulled out the bag he had packed and then walked towards the hangar. A tall man stepped out from the shadows.

"Naruto!"

The blond nodded. "Hey there, Kisame. Everything ready?"

The almost blue man nodded. "Take your time…but please be back by morning."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks man. Where is she?" he saw Kisame point and then moved in that direction.

Sasuke followed him and found a microlight aircraft in the hangar. Naruto pulled its door open and shoved the bag in at the bag. He then moved to a drawer in the hanger and tossed Sasuke a leather helmet with goggles. "Put that on and then get in."

Sasuke looked at him in shock. "What? Why? You're flying this thing?"

Naruto nodded. "You're wrong in one thing…I'm going to _teach_ you how to fly this thing…and after that I'll fly it."

Sasuke tried not to gape, but failed miserably. He got in and shut the door. Naruto climbed into the pilot's seat and then started backing he plan out. Sasuke was fascinated and paid attention to everything Naruto was telling him. Then the blond handed him the rudder and wrapped his hand around his ward's. He guided Sasuke through everything and they finally took off. Sasuke let Naruto take over and looked out the window with glee. The countryside skimmed by, they flew high but not too high. Finally Naruto announced he was landing and did so on some airstrip down below. Sasuke realised they were on raised land like a plateau of some kind. Then a thought struck him.

"Dobe, do you even have a license?"

"I got my flying license when I was your age! Kakashi let me go to flight school…I'm even a licensed teacher!" h stuck his tongue out. "Shows how much you know about me eh?"

Sasuke frowned. "Well you haven't let me know you fully…let's change that! So this is it?"

Naruto shook his head. He jogged a little way off and opened his bag. He started laying out a few sheets on the ground and then set up a small low table. On it he placed a big fried chicken, a dish of mashed potatoes and a bowl of coleslaw. Two glasses of wine graced the table too. Sasuke got the idea and helped him set out the plates and stuff.

Then Naruto lit this huge candle he'd brought along. "I hope you don't think it's too girly...I chose the pine scented candle because I thought it would be more manly. I mean…I wanted this to be special…"

Sasuke nodded. "Naruto…it's great…"

The blond smiled. "So how was school?"

"Good." Sasuke took a bite of the chicken savouring it. "I joined this anime club with the gang. We had a lot of fun…though Karin kept shoving yaoi books at me. We're going to be watching a lot of good anime though…I'll bring some home…I know you like it too…I want you to watch this one called code geass…it's something awesome apparently…"

Naruto nodded. "Sasuke…are you…happy? I mean not about us and all…but with school and everything?" he sipped some wine.

"Yes Naruto…very." Sasuke grinned. "But I'm happy that you're finally giving me a chance…"

Naruto smiled again, his blue eyes crinkling up a bit. "So is Kakashi I guess. He was a bit worried that I would never ever give you a chance…I'm sorry it took so long…you see Sasuke…at some point in my life I had a crush on Kakashi…it wasn't real…just an infatuation…so I kept thinking that maybe you were going through the same thing…"

Sasuke scowled a bit. Naruto had had a crush on Kakashi? He looked into Naruto's eyes and saw sincerity there and sighed. "You don't still like Kakashi do you?"

"No." Naruto smirked. "Jealous?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No! Just worried…it would be like such a soap opera if I liked you and you liked Kakashi…"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah…but it's not…it's life. Sasuke…I want to know about you…tell me about you…not the bad parts…but just what happened with you before you met me…at Nawaki's…"

Sasuke inhaled but let it out. "You don' mind me not telling you about anything I don't want to talk about?" he saw Naruto shake his head and exhaled in relief.

"Well after…everything…I got sent to live with my great aunt's family. I was nine then. They are the only Uchiha's still alive. She had many kids my age…but I found it extremely hard to adjust to them…so I left and tried to run away. He police found me, but my aunt didn't want me back. So I was sent to an orphanage that I kept coming back to after I was adopted and sent back to when Tsunade-san's brother found me. He offered to adopt me and I accepted. It was around eleven at the time. I tried hard, but it was a bit hard to understand or get along with Nawaki-san. I was still messed up about my past so I didn't make many friends and at school I didn't' trust anyone…so yeah it was a bit lonely…I hung out with Gaara a bit but that's it. Then Nawaki-san passed away and I cane to you. I didn't think I would be staying with you for long though…kind of got used to being shifted around."

Naruto stayed silent for a while just concentrating on his food and letting Sasuke eat his own. Once they're plates were cleaned of their contents he cleared up. "I'm sorry Sasuke…I wish you hadn't had such a hard time…"

Dark eyes looked at him contemplating before they softened. "Look whose talking moron…"

They cleared away everything except the sheets on the ground. Naruto cleaned the cutlery at a nearby stream and then came back to pack up. He dived into the bag again and pulled out a couple of pillows and then threw them at Sasuke.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You better not be thinking about sex…"

Naruto shook his head. "No…it's something better…now lay back and close your eyes." when the dark haired man did so, Naruto lay back next to him. Moving close he whispered in Sasuke's ear. "Open your eyes and look up at the sky…"

As Sasuke did so, he saw a falling star…and another one…and another…he held his breath as he saw the small pinpricks of light shooting across the sky. He opened his mouth only to have it closed by Naruto's hand.

"Don't say anything…make a wish, teme…then you can talk…"

Sasuke looked hard at a shooting star and then did just that. Then he turned to Naruto with wonder… "How?"

"Meteor shower…it was in the newspaper…so…this special enough for you teme?" his lips were enveloped by another pair as Sasuke kissed him softly. Naruto felt like sparklers had gone off in his head. He let his hands thread through Sasuke's silky black hair and pulled the younger boy into another soft but more passionate kiss. At first they looked at each other as they kissed, before their finally slipped shut.

Naruto's tongue traced Sasuke's lip, before backing off and allowing Sasuke's tongue to slip between his own lips. Oh yeah…Sasuke had definitely improved at kissing. Their lips meshed together again and again. Sasuke felt like his feelings would envelope him and explode.

This wasn't lust. Naruto was finally sure…he didn't feel like fucking the boy…he wanted to love this boy and hold him this way for so long… "Mmmm…Sasuke…" his slightly rough voice sent shivers up Sasuke's spine.

The brunet pulled him closer and then let himself only feel the kiss. "Naruto…I love you…"

Naruto pulled the younger boy on top of him and kissed him softly again. Sasuke didn't mind the lack of response content to be able to say it finally and not be stopped.

Naruto struggled to come to grips with his feelings as his lips were captured again and again. They pulled away finally and lay back again; watching the twinkling stars and one or two of the shooting starts still flitting across the sky.

It was like love had formed this protective barrier around them…Naruto had never felt so painfully complete before…he reached for Sasuke's hand and grabbed it feeling like it would be a sin to let go. Rolling on top of the darker haired boy and he looked deep into those obsidian eyes. Suddenly tears formed in his eyes…it didn't even strike him that it wasn't manly. The feelings were too much. A tear dropped. The world seemed to stop. Sasuke held his breath and Naruto let the one thought forming in his head out.

"Sasuke…"

"Sasuke…I think I'm in love with you…"

* * *

**PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION**

**Could you feel it? Could you all feel the scene? The date scene I mean? I'm feeling messed up like I've poured my emotion into it…So please please let me know…I need to know…**

**A/N: I can't make it longer…it seems perfect to stop there. I…I can't help it…my emotions seem to be all over the place. **

**On an easier note…There reason I'm not updating is because I'm spending time with my guy and it's hard to get home on time to update and when I'm not with him I have assignments and all since I'm in my last year of college. Right now he isn't in town…but my updating will increase I'm sure of that. **

**Please please review…I need it….I need as much motivation as I can get to update my fics. **


	12. Solving

**A/N: Wow…have I updated this fast in a long time? I don't think so…but this chapter just flowed. I totally enjoyed writing and spent about three hours or so working on it. It's been a long time since I could spend a day writing a chapter at intervals! So yayness!**

Chapter 12:

Gaara watched Sasuke for a while…he was soon joined by Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo in that order. The dark haired boy hardly seemed to notice his presence. He was off on a thought ride, oblivious to everything going on around him. He remained that way when class began and didn't seem to budge even when the teacher called out his name twice. It was only when said teacher came over to slam a hand down on his desk that Sasuke came out of his dream world. However his glare at the teacher and the sentence "What the fuck do you want?" was not duly appreciated and he was carted off to meet the principal.

A lecture and an apology letter later, Sasuke was back to daydreaming in class. At lunch at the end of the Quad, his stupefied gang gathered around him and waited…then they waited…and waited…waited some more and then Karin lost it. Sasuke got a punch that sent him rolling away. That broke the surprised atmosphere and Suigetsu joined in as well until Gaara realised that they were all actually trying to find out what Sasuke had to say and that if Sasuke was unconscious it would just mean more waiting. So he separated everyone with the help of Juugo and then looked at the Uchiha raven.

"So?"

Sasuke frowned looking extremely grouchy. "So what?"

"WHAT HAPPENED?" That was Karin.

Sasuke looked a little confused. "What do you mean what happened?"

"Gosh man, that dense guardian of yours must be rubbing off on you. What happened to make you _daydream_ all day?"

"Oh…" everyone sweat dropped when Sasuke said that.

Sasuke shook his head. "Well….Naruto said he loves me…"

"And that has you in a _worried_ daydream, why?" Gaara raised his non-existent eyebrows in question.

"Well…" Sasuke put his head in his hands. "I…I didn't know how to react to it."

"WHAT?" even Gaara had joined in on the chorus.

"I don't know…I'd been dreaming of it for so long that I…I still don't know how to react now that it's coming true…"

"What did you say to him when he said that…?" Juugo was the one who spoke to everyone's shock.

"I…" Sasuke flushed. "I said…'what? You gotta be kidding me, dobe…' and then I helped him pack up and we came home…"

Everyone collapsed to the floor total anime style. Karin groaned. "Lame…Sasuke….my prodigy…how lame can you be?"

Sasuke frowned. "I was shocked."

Suigetsu patted him on the back. "And what did Naruto say?"

"Nothing, we didn't…haven't said anything to each other for a while now. But his is just between us ok? If anyone knows that anything's going on between me and Naruto before I turn eighteen, he'll be in a lot of trouble." Sasuke warned.

Everyone rolled their eyes and nodded. "We know." Gaara heaved a gigantic sigh. "Why is it that when one thing gets solved with you guys there are so many things that crop up right at the end of the last problem?"

Sasuke shrugged. Karin's eyebrow twitched. "Ok that's it…the moment school is over you are going to _tell_ Naruto that you're freaking out about it. It's natural Sasuke-kun…if you come here in this particularly dazed state tomorrow, I will HARM you…"

Sasuke nodded and then lay back on the grass. "I don't know what to say…"

"Oh you will know…trust me. If you're not getting things sorted by tomorrow then you won't have to worry about the "lusting" for Naruto part…" Karin grinned a little crazily. "All my hard work will not go to waste…"

* * *

Naruto sighed and buried his head in his hands. "So yeah… he said ''what? You gotta be kidding me, dobe…' and then we packed up and came home…"

Hana looked at him and smothered a smile. "Naruto…"

"Yeah…I mean how lame could things get huh? And I was thinking he'd be _happy_ to hear that from me…" He growled. "Ah….I had no idea what to say that…and saying 'no it's true Sasuke!' would have been silly."

Hana tried again. "Narut…"

"And then we came home and went to bed. I didn't _sleep_ a wink! In the morning he was _fine_…like what I had said last night didn't happen!" Naruto stood up and began to pace. "He wants me to say it so why isn't he happy? Does he think I didn't mean it? I _cried_…" then his eyes widened and he looked at his ex, "No…I mean I didn't cry _cry_…just a tear…I mean…well maybe he hates me now…maybe he thinks he made a mistake in liking a cry baby…I mean is it too much to except him to wipe away my tears and say 'Oh I've wanted that! I love you too'? I don't get it! _I don't get it!_ **I don't get it…**I DON'T GET IT!"

Then he went rolling into the table clutching his stomach. Hana looking more pissed than he'd ever seen her and more like an Amazon warrior then a sweet veterinary doctor was standing over him. "SHUT UP! Naruto why did you stop me from leaving when I came to get my stuff?"

Naruto had gathered his scattered guts by then. "Cause you give good advice…and since you made me do this…I mean put this into my head, you'd better help me deal with it…"

Hana glared at him, her mouth turning own at once side. "Uh huh…how can I give you good advice when you're rambling? Listen…Sasuke must be confused too….so talk it out with him. Honestly they way you guys can never just be happy and _normal _is getting irritating_. _Now make something nice for Sasuke-kun and then talk it out. You're going to be twenty one soon. Start acting like it…" her face softened. "I'm really very angry with you for making me listen to all this when we just broke up the day before yesterday…it hurts….but then again I was expecting _you_ to be sensitive…" she sighed. "Clear it up Naru…and be happy…"

Naruto watched her leave and threw himself onto the couch. It was true that he'd forgotten they'd only broken up two days ago. The Sasuke situation had been killing him so he'd just grabbed her as she was walking out with her stuff so she could clear it up for him. He slapped his hand against his forehead before he got to making some chicken croissants for Sasuke. Then he went upstairs and tried to study for the exams that were coming up soon. Nothing went into that head of his…he had known it wouldn't at least not while his head was full of Sasuke. He heard the front door open and Sasuke's muted shout of "I'm home" but made no move to go down. He wanted Sasuke to change and relax a bit before they brought up this topic.

When he finally made himself go down Sasuke was sitting on the couch a chicken croissant on his plate. Naruto surmised that the younger boy had taken about two bites of it when he'd entered. He sat down next to Sasuke and lay his head back against the couch so he was looking up at the ceiling. He liked this weird comfortable and quiet silence he had with Sasuke.

Sasuke broke the silence. "did you mean it? When you said…"

"Yeah…"

"I'm sorry, I was confused…more like I had waited so long for you to say it, I even had all these answers in my head, cool ones like 'Took you long enough, dobe…' but I couldn't say anything…" Sasuke looked at his plate. "I hadn't expected…you to say it then…and now I'm thinking, maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing. You saying it then I mean…"

Hands caught ahold of his wrists and lips gently kissed his. Blue eyes looked into his startled black ones. "Sasuke…I'm a doofus. I need to tell you something…Sasuke…" Naruto cleared his throat a bit, but a determined look entered his eyes. "Sasuke, when you first came into my home…well a few months after that…I don't think you even remember, you were fast asleep… you fell asleep on this couch and I carried you to your room. As I put you down on your bed, you kissed me…in your sleep."

There was a pause and Sasuke looked at tad bit embarrassed. But Naruto gulped a bit and continued. "I think I liked you then…I haven't been honest with you when it comes to my feelings at all. I liked you _then_ Sasuke…way back then. But I was coward…I thought and in a way I still think it was wrong. Every moment I spent with you then on, I tried to consciously shut you out. That time you made out with me at the farmhouse…I wasn't asleep…but I didn't want to let you know that I was awake…I…I…I couldn't stop you that night…"

Naruto looked distressed. "Sasuke the truth is…Hana noticed it too…I wanted to deny being in love with you. I repressed every shred of that particular emotion I had for you…I kept trying to change it into something more family like…I failed. I wanted to be a good guardian. If you don't mind me saying it, you seem to have an extra fucked up past…and I didn't want to fuck it up more…"

Than Naruto looked at him determined again. "But I do know that I'm in love you…I know that from now on I can't run anymore. Because I ran away I hurt _you_, I hurt _Hana_ and I hurt _me_. And I know it's hard for you to just take me at my word…but Uchiha Sasuke I am_ definitely_ in love with you."

Sasuke stared at him for a long while. He didn't know if he had to be happy that everything was finally settled or mad that Naruto had loved him but fought it and made him hurt for so long. But then again, whop could blame Naruto…if word got out, hen this definitely wouldn't be taken lightly in society. So he went for it.

Naruto found himself grabbed in a hug, the chicken croissant and plate slid to the floor. Sasuke was hugging him so firmly and solidly…it wasn't painfully tight but it still seemed like the boy never wanted to let him go. Naruto wound his hands around Sasuke too, breathing in that warm scent that Sasuke smelled off. "I'm sorry…" he murmured into the boy's hair.

Sasuke just held him tighter. He wondered whether if he held Naruto any tighter he could just merge with that warm body, whether they could just become one being. Was it so bad that he just wanted to stay like this…wrapped up like this forever? Would it be running away if they never broke apart and he just let all his problems seep out of him?

Naruto shifted, stretching out his legs and prodding Sasuke to do the same while letting the boy continue to hold him. The new position with them both lying almost on top of each other was much more comfortable. They stayed like that for a whole hour neither speaking, just being happy to stay like that.

It was almost twilight when Naruto finally shifted a bit more. "Ne Sasuke…"

"Hn?"

"I wanna make out with you…"

"Eh?" Sasuke sat up and glared at Naruto. "Is that what you've been thinking about all along?"

Naruto shook his head. "No…just now… the thought came to me. You up for it?"

Sasuke looked at him incredulously… "No. Especially not when you ask for it!"

Naruto stood up then and unceremoniously dumped him on his butt. "Fine. I'll go get dinner ready…though there maybe enough croissants…maybe I only need to make a soup or something." He looked down at his prone ward. "Don't glare at me like that teme…come and help…or go do your homework…"

Once dinner was done, Naruto went up to his own room after kissing Sasuke goodnight. He decided he'd take things really slow as Sasuke was acting weird…He spent half hour at his desk trying to cram a bit, but gave up. He had the whole day tomorrow so he could spend it studying. He slid into bed in his boxers and cuddled his pillow covering his head in the blanket too. He'd just noticed today that Sasuke was all ready his height…he would soon get taller than him. The thought made Naruto pout a bit. It just wasn't done that Sasuke got to be taller. He was so wrapped up in this thought that he almost screamed when he felt something sit down next to him. He hoped it wasn't Watson.

"Naruto…"

Eh? Naruto freed his head from the blanket and looked at Sasuke's slightly awkward expression. "Hm?"

Sasuke said nothing; he just crawled forward a bit and placed his nose against Naruto's. Then with absolutely no warning of any sort he caught Naruto up in the most passionate kiss the blond had ever had.

**(Lemon-ish-ness)**

When Naruto finally pushed Sasuke away to be able to breathe since his nose had suddenly decided not to work during the longest kiss of his life, he had to wonder how Sasuke had gotten under the covers with him. Even before he could take in a lungful of air, Sasuke's hands began running down his naked chest, constantly and erratically grazing his nipples. Naruto couldn't help the moan that he gave, he couldn't help his hands winding into that black hair and pulling the younger man down for a long kiss.

Sasuke's hands wouldn't stop moving, his fingers played with every possible patch of skin they could find and once Naruto's mouth had freed Sasuke's…little kisses were trailed from neck downwards on the dobe's beautiful tanned skin. All the doubts Naruto was having fell apart and his hands hand began the Sasuke exploration enthusiastically.

Two fingers hooked into Naruto's boxers and started sliding them off. The things was, Sasuke sexily slid downwards along with them licking each patch of skin he encountered with that hot little tongue of his…the bastard bypassed Naruto's good sized erection which had just gained freedom and continued licking down one leg…he stopped at the foot with a slightly disgusted expression. The blankets had slid down with Sasuke, leaving Naruto in all his naked glory.

Sasuke's breath hitched a bit, his sucked in a breath and casually tossed the boxers aside. Then he lay back on top of Naruto placing their erections next to each other and began to literally _grind_ into him. Naruto's moans began at the back of his throat and then slowly rose in volume as this unbelievably good friction continued.

He grabbed the raven's ass and began a fast incessant rhythm, dying to cum. He just really really had to cum. "Sasuke…" he groaned.

Sasuke's panting in his ear was driving him nuts. The fact that Sasuke stopped panting at intervals to try and trace his earlobe with his tongue also drove him nuts.

**(Lemon-ish-ness ends here and Important bit here)**

Naruto was so caught up in his pleasure that he didn't notice that his fingers had moved on Sasuke's ass to trace his puckered little entrance.

Suddenly all movement ceased. It took Naruto a bit to get his senses together, he looked up at Sasuke whose head had jerked upwards and saw fear slowly filling Sasuke's eyes.

One of Sasuke hands was twisted at a weird angle grabbing Naruto's wrist stopping those fingers from going near his entrance. Seeing Naruto's questioning gaze, sasuke took a couple of deep breaths. "No…" he whispered. "Naruto…you can't…please don't…touch me there…"

Naruto nodded. "What…"

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it…" then slowly a panicked expression came over his face and his erection against Naruto's thigh wilted. "Naruto…you have to know…I…I can't be uke…please don't make me be uke…"

When Naruto shifted to calm him down, Sasuke looked even more panicked. "Don't be angry…I'm sorry I didn't tell you before…don't hate me…I just can't be uke…"

Naruto gave him a short slap. Sasuke's other arm; the one that was supporting him came up to clutch his cheek, causing him to fall on top of the blond. Before he could retaliate arms wound around him.

"I don't hate you. You don't have to be uke…be seme all right? _My_ seme…" Naruto rubbed Sasuke back. "Calm down Sasuke…you have your reasons and I don't need to hear them till you're ready."

After the quiet little speech he grinned at the raven. "Ok, seme-sama…can we please finish what we started? I was sooo close to cumming…"

Sasuke blushed a bright red. After that it didn't Sasuke long to get back to being a horny teenager and humping Naruto like a bunny. They came simultaneously and then went of to have a nice hot shower.

Sasuke looked for a minute at Naruto who seemed to be scrutinising the bed as he stood butt naked by it. "Dobe…?"

"I'm changing the sheets and you're helping me."

"What the hell? Let's just sleep in my room…"

"No…I want _my_ bed…come one its fun changing sheets while we're both naked!" Naruto grinned widely. "I get to check you out…and think up funny things for you to do to me…"

A pillow hit him. Then the whole plan degenerated into a pillow fight. An exhausted Naruto scuttled off to leave the sheets in the laundry basket while Sasuke put on the new ones.

"Teme…"

"Hn?"

"I thought you didn't want to make out…"

Sasuke turned around to look at Naruto. "What do you mean?"

Naruto frowned. "I'm talking about earlier today…"

Sasuke sighed. "I meant…that it would be awkward if we went at it like that. I wanted us to just do it when we felt like it, not after talking about it…"

Naruto nodded and then threw himself forward. He hit Sasuke and they both fell onto the bed. Yanking the blanket over them Naruto snuggled into Sasuke.

"Goodnight teme…"

"Don't…don't you want to know about my past? Aren't you even curious?" even though he was grateful that Naruto has understood about him not wanting to talk about it, he still felt a bit miffed about Naruto not seeming curious at all. Didn't the dobe want to _know_ about him?

"I am. But you aren't ready to talk yet and I'll wait till then."

"Oh…ok."

"Yeah, now go to sleep teme…"

"Usuratonkachi…?"

"Hm?" Naruto sounded a little annoyed.

"I love you…"

Naruto chuckled a bit, before cuddling Sasuke some more. "I love you too, teme…"

* * *

It was the ringing of the phone that woke Sasuke up. He wondered who would be calling at six in the morning on a Saturday. Naruto still seemed oblivious to the world. Sasuke reached out and picked it up.

"Hello?"

An extremely deep male voice sounded on the other end. "Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Uh…no this is his ward. Is it very urgent?"

"Yes. Please hand the phone over to Uzumaki Naruto at once…"

Sasuke replied an affirmative and then clapped a hand over the mouth piece, incase the person got ideas. Then he woke Naruto up. The blond groaned and grumbled and took the phone.

"Hello?"

"Naruto?"

"Hn?"

"This is Asuma from the Konoha Police Department. We've had a call from the Otogakure Department…Sannin Orochimaru has just escaped…"

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all liked this chapter! I'd thought of ending before the phone call, but decided it felt too much like the end of the story and decided that you all needed to be a given my trademark cliffie!**

**Since it's the first time I've updated this fast in ages please encourage me with more reviews…**

**Thank you all for reading…**

**Taka**


	13. Revealing

Chapter 13:

All feeling drained out of him except for a wave of nausea that had started to form in his gut. He fought hard to regain his composure so that he could talk to the police man and keep the conversation a secret from Sasuke. _Oh god no…_turning a few shades paler he began walking out into Sasuke's room and shut the door once he was in. "Where is he now?"

"We don't really know, we're looking for him. We want to place you in the witness protection act. Orochimaru will definitely come after you and those who are close to you. You will have to give us a list of names of the people who are with you now, especially that of your ward's…" Asuma spoke a little gruffly.

Naruto's breath caught for a moment. His mind began to form scenarios immediately and panic now joined the nausea, building up like a tsunami. _Orochimaru's out…he'll get Sasuke…he'll do anything to hurt me. _

"Uzumaki-san? Uzumaki-san?" Asuma's voice broke through the torment that his mind was putting him through. "Please calm down. I want you to breathe Uzumaki-san…"

Naruto clutched the table in a white knuckled grip and sat down on the bet, forcing his nose to inhale and exhale as he fought to calm down. "Could you please fill me in on the details, Sarutobi-san?"

"Orochimaru escaped Otogakure Confinement late last night. We were called right away and we gave it a 12 hour gap to see if they could catch him. They haven't located him yet. He is said to have had no help…he seems to have been planning this for a while. He killed a warden, bludgeoned him to death and killed four security guards with a gun we suspect he took from the warden. We're calling you because we have no idea where he is, but he will most probably head to Konoha. Most perps are out to get revenge and you're the one who put him behind bars Uzumaki-san. We've also hard him talking about wanting to murder you many times. As you know, he can only come here by either road or air, all airports are being watched and we have been able to test each person's finger prints before they board and no private planes are being allowed to leave the airport for two weeks. That leaves only road travel…it will take him about a week to get here." Asuma sighed at the end of his monologue. "So we would like to shift you into witness protection by the time this week is up."

Naruto pondered on the information for a while. Now that the initial shock was over, he had started thinking more clearly. "Asuma-san…I would like to meet you later on and discuss but about the witness protection act you'll have to give me some time to think."

"All right…but it's of utmost importance that you give me that list of friends and family, you understand?"

"Yes I do. Please don't breathe a word of this to Kakashi or my ward. This is my cell phone number; please contact me on this, at all times. Where can we meet?"

"Let's meet at Lobster Lounge for lunch. We'll discuss everything then."

"Thank you." Naruto switched off the phone and padded back into his room to return it to its cradle. He heard water going in the bathroom down the hall and assumed Sasuke had gone to shower. Going to the bathroom downstairs, he began to brush his teeth. Naruto had known that this might happen some day. Orochimaru was too wily to actually stay in jail. Naruto sighed, now he had to come up with something fast. He had to keep Sasuke and Kakashi safe, no matter what happened.

"Naruto?"

The blond turned around and saw sasuke giving him a weird stare, with his nose scrunched up a bit. "What?" the question bought a mouthful of toothpaste splashing into the sink.

"That." Sasuke shook his head. "Is there a reason that you're staring at yourself in the mirror without moving with a mouthful of toothpaste and a toothbrush stuck in your mouth?"

Naruto spat again and cleaned out his mouth with water. "Can I have some privacy here? I'll get you your breakfast in a minute…"

Sasuke gave him a short look before nodding and letting him finish. When Naruto stepped outside he found Sasuke in the kitchen toasting some bread. A few eggs were in a pan, sizzling away as Sasuke tried to scramble them. Naruto took over from him and continued with his contemplations.

Sasuke watched him for a while, a worried slowly beginning to form on his face. What the heck was that phone call all about? He grabbed the plates of eggs from Naruto and set them on the table still watching Naruto being lost in his own world.

They both sat down and Sasuke began shovelling eggs into his mouth after having looked at the clock and realised that he was going to be late for school. He couldn't resist the curiosity though. "So are you ever gonna tell me why that phone call has you so flustered?"

Naruto thought fast. He didn't want to lie to Sasuke, but then he didn't want to tell the boy the truth either. "Uh…do you mind if we didn't talk about it? Please…"

It was the hope in the blue eyes and the fact that Naruto was fidgeting a lot that got Sasuke to let it go. Maybe if the blond was this bothered it was serious, but then again Naruto would tell him if he needed to know. "Yeah, all right. I'll be back by afternoon today, maybe around four? I don't have any extra work."

"Yeah. I'm going out too, I thought of getting in some study but I don't think that's gonna happen… Damn…and my exams are three weeks away." Naruto sighed. "Give me a call when you finish, I might be able to come get you and then we can go out for dinner maybe."

He waited for Sasuke to leave and then went for a shower. Spending more time than necessary on aimlessly running the wash cloth over his skin, he only realised he was going to be late, when he'd scrubbed his skin raw. He had loads of things to do before he actually got to lunch. Damn Orochimaru…damn him to hell…

* * *

Sarutobi Asuma sat down at the table and waited for the Uzumaki kid to show up. He pulled out a chocolate flavoured ciggie and lit it deliberately. Leaning his head on one palm he inhaled deeply, letting the drifting smoke calm him…not that he thought this meeting would go badly…he was a cop for crying out loud, he was always tense. If his wife ever found out she would most probably turn him into the next baby wipe.

Asuma sighed and thought through all the information he'd one through about this case before he'd contacted the Uzumaki kid. Having lost his own father early in life, and about to become a father himself, he could see how much this escape would affect Naruto. The boy had really begun making something of himself, and he'd taken on a ward…he was showing a lot of maturity and responsibility for his age.

A quiet voice sounded talking to the host, Asuma turned to see who recognised as the Uzumaki kid. Medium height, bright blond hair and blue eyes….very good looking and from what he'd researched had a sweet personality to match. So all those problems were hidden away beneath the surface…this assessment gave Asuma an extremely uneasy feeling. Shaking it off, he stood as the host ushered Uzumaki Naruto towards him.

"Uzumaki-san…" Asuma held out his hand which was gripped in a firm handshake.

"Yes. Nice to see you in person, Sarutobi-san. Thank you for agreeing to meet me." Naruto smiled and took a seat. He seemed very tense for all his smile was easy going.

Asuma smiled back. "What do you say we order first and then talk, son?"

Naruto nodded. "I agree whole heartedly."

They ordered and didn't get down o it until their food arrived. After tucking in about half way, Asuma looked at the blond kid. "So what did you want to discuss…?"

"Well…" Naruto played with his fork a little. "You said that Orochimaru is after me?"

Asuma nodded. "That's the theory, yes. But we do have some sort of evidence that you are indeed his target. He hated your father and now he seems to have transferred that hatred to you adding to the fact that you put him in jail. Why?"

Naruto ate a few mouthfuls, seemingly immersed in thought. "I would like to stay at home. I would like you to use me as bait…"

Asuma choked on his piece of lobster and a few good humps from Naruto were needed to remedy that. He looked incredulously at the boy. "What did you say? Are you crazy? He wants to _kill_ you…"

"I know." Naruto was calm as he stated the obvious. "But you see, officer, it's my fight. If you move me into witness protection now, you may be able to catch him, but then he could escape again. I do not intend to spend my life flitting from place to place on the run and fearing for my life and that of my loved ones."

Asuma sighed and raked a hand through his hair, some of it escaping his pony tail. "We can protect you. I won't let him escape again. I recommend you go into the witness protection program without delay by at least the end of this week."

Naruto looked the officer up and down and sighed. "I made the list you asked me to. I still want to request that you say nothing to Kakashi and Sasuke about this. I will inform them in two nights time at dinner."

Asuma nodded and hen he looked at Naruto suspiciously. "You _will_ be going under the protection won't you, Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto fidgeted with his fork some more. After a long while, he sighed. His voice was soft when he finally answered. "Yes."

Asuma wasn't convinced. The kid looked like he was planning something. "You _will_ contact me if he calls you understand? Or if he gets in touch with you by any other means…"

Naruto nodded irritably. "Of course."

Asuma smiled at him and signalled for the check. "This one is on me, son, it's the least I can do."

* * *

Sasuke kissed him again, first soft and then hard and then back to soft again. He was driving Naruto insane. The blond raked his fingers through that silky black hair, trying to gain some control over the situation. He clung to the younger boy, trying to bury himself in Sasuke's smell, touch and taste without wanting to worry about what was to come.

Smacking noises emanated from the two of them as they tried to climb the stairs while keeping their lips locked. A few stumbles and fumbles later, Sasuke had finally navigated them to his room and opened the door. Then he backed Naruto into the bed, until the fell on top of each other in a heap of kissing males.

Sasuke panted as he slid a hand up Naruto's t-shirt, he made a beeline for the blond's nipple. Somehow today he just wanted to get Naruto off and get off himself….not too much foreplay. He pinched the nipple before moving to the other one. Then he parted company with Naruto's lips for a while to unbutton his own shirt and chuck it away. Then he slid Naruto's t-shirt off and brought his hands to rest on the blond's beautiful tanned chest. He pinched both nipples hard, before massaging them to ease the pain.

**(Lemon)**

Naruto's eyes shot wide open when Sasuke's hot little mouth joined in the game. A trail of open mouth kisses trailed down the blond's neck to his chest. He almost bucked just from that, but when Sasuke's hands started to hook into his pants, Naruto lost it. He reached downwards and grabbed the younger boy into a mind blowing kiss.

The rest was history as they scrabbled to undo each other's pants and briefs were shed in haste. Their lips clashed again and again, tongues battling for dominance and hands roaming naked skin, setting each bit on fire. Naruto never thought having Sasuke's hands and tongue move like this could have been this good; he just wanted to go for the home run instead of waiting around.

Sasuke finally came up on Naruto's bobbing cock, he smirked and wrapped a hand around the head and stroked just a little bit. He let his thumb slide against the slit randomly, until he heard Naruto panting hard. Then he bent down to lick the underside of the cock, flattening his tongue and moving it a little over every patch of skin. It made him feel a bit like a snake, but the strangled groan from Naruto made him think otherwise. He latched on to a part of Naruto's cock and then suckled lightly, all the while playing with Naruto's balls. Then his mouth slid off the head with his thumb replacing it while Sasuke's mouth slid down all the way to the blond kistune's balls. He took one into his mouth and then the other, his tongue laving at them like they were some suckable boiled sweets…his free hand moved to just behind the balls to press and rub against a spot that made Naruto go wild.

The raven moved back to the head, leaving a nice wet trail to mark his way back, and slid Naruto's cock into his mouth. He looked up to see Naruto's face slightly scrunched in pleasure, silent moans emanating from that mouth which was parted, so beautifully framed by those yummy lips. Then Sasuke made up his mind. He bobbed his head for a while, tightening his lips to make it nice and tight for Naruto and then he let his mouth slid off the blond's cock and slid all the way up the blond's body till his forehead was pressed against the blond's.

Unfortunately or fortunately Sasuke couldn't help but grind against the body below him, bringing their cocks together and making them both gasp in surprise. Blue eyes glared up at him for stopping the wonderful blow job. But Sasuke ignored it.

"N…Naruto…I want… I …don't want to wait any longer…"Sasuke tried getting his breath back and stopping his body from moving, but that seemed to be something unmanageable. "God…Naruto…can we…can we have sex? I… I wanna…fuck you…"

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hips and couldn't help a small grind upwards before he stilled all movement. Much to the raven's chagrin, he couldn't help but buck against Naruto's hands searching for friction, before he too stopped. "What?"

Naruto just looked at him, his hands lightly caressing Sasuke. "You sure? Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yeah…" Sasuke turned away a bit. "Are you…? I mean…you haven't bottomed before have you?"

Naruto shook his head. "No…I haven't. But I know it'll hurt…I'm up for it if you are…"

Sasuke just removed Naruto's hands from his hips, falling onto the blond. He began to grind against the blond really slowly, all the while reaching for the draw at the table by his bed. Luckily it was close enough for him to reach without stopping the heavenly friction between them. He pulled out lube…and click open the cap as his stomach clenched with one particular angle Naruto bucked up at.

He finally moved back and away from Naruto, sliding down to the dobe's hole. It looked so inviting all pink and puckered and small…gods…so tight…he let one lubed finger graze it a bit. Then he bent down at a weird angle and took Naruto's cock in his mouth. He slid his finger in with a particularly hard suck and wiggled it trying to stretch that hole….naruto was too tight, damn it…slowly another finger and another entered, luckily the pain had stopped Naruto from coming which he would have done prematurely with the way Sasuke was going at his cock and the fact that the Uchiha seemed to find his prostate with no trouble.

The seventeen year old finally lined himself up against the hole and looked at Naruto. The tiny nod Naruto gave was enough; Sasuke slid his lubed cock into that tight, tight hole grunting…he had to stop a bit each time to let Naruto adjust, he used that time to pump Naruto's cock, ignoring his own discomfort at the warmth clawing at him from inside Naruto.

He slid in fully and luckily Naruto was almost erect again. The blond had never felt like this in his whole life, when Sasuke started to move, the pain started sliding into pleasure and then it finally turned into the excruciating need to come. Sasuke had shifted the blond's legs so that he straddled one and the other was on his shoulder. He'd spent a lot of time reading yaoi and watching it so he had some idea of how to do this right. Naruto started to whimper as Sasuke's rod filled him again and again constantly hitting that one spot that was driving him nuts.

When the orgasm hit him, Naruto thought the world was going to explode, everything turned white and then black before everything came back into focus a little blurred. He breathed hard and fast for a long while. Sasuke the other hand had come as soon has Naruto's muscles had clenched around him like a trapped, literally milking him of his seed. He collapsed in a heap beside Naruto, trying to get his breath back since he was sure he was going die if he didn't. They both took a while to regain their senses, weirdly enough none of them fighting the onslaught of sleep…they were just awake…and happy.

**(End Lemon)**

Sasuke doubted he'd ever felt this happy before. He sighed and curled into the blond man…the only thing bothering him was this feeling of urgency. It had been nagging him all day and now again Sasuke found himself doing something he hadn't realised he was ready for.

"Naruto…do you want to hear about what happened to me? About why I won't be uke? I think I'm ready to tell you…" Sasuke bit his lip once he finished the sentence. Somehow the many times he'd thought of Naruto and telling him, he never thought it would b after sex, lying in it's afterglow, the sheet's all rumpled around him.

Naruto turned and faced him. "Yes I do…"

Sasuke breathed a bit. "It started when I was seven. My brother…" he stumbled on that word. "…was twelve. He was under a lot of pressure, and I remember he used to be this genius. He knew everything…he was way mature for his age…so one day he crumbled. The crumbling started slowly at first. I used to see him giving me these weird looks. Then one day he came into my room when I was asleep…he…he…" Sasuke stopped and took a breath again, feeling Naruto's soothing hands rub his back. "He had a blade on him…I woke up when his hand covered my mouth…he actually cut off my oxygen supply for a minute or so…"

"then he held up that blade…it was glinting in the moonlight…he first made a tiny cut on my tummy and then on my waist…just a few, shallow…he whispered that he just wanted to watch them bleed…he kept saying that my parent's would be very angry with me if they found out so I had to keep quiet…because they'd believe that I had done it to myself…"

"He kept it up for a year…with no one finding out…when he got carried away, he just helped me bandage it up later…it was weird, he was cruel when he had a blade in his hands but when he didn't, he turned all brotherly and nice…he took care of me those times…he… I hated him for hurting me every single day….I kept thinking it would stop but then it didn't. so I loved Itachi…my brother who would take care of me and I hated the Itachi who would hurt me every single day."

"I trained a lot that time…I wanted to make sure I was strong enough to stop him and I never did…he fact that I did nothing only made it get worse. So a year and a half after Itachi started the whole mess, he came into my room…this time he had a knife…he was so far gone…he'd gotten a B in an exam…my father had been very angry with him…you see, he was the perfect son…my father had only scolded him, so I don't know why he did what he did…he cut me pretty deep this time…not deep enough to leave scars but deep enough to see my blood running, this time he let it run all over the sheets, I started to panic, I was wondering how mad my parents would be…but then…he brought out salt….Naruto…he rubbed salt into the cuts…he wasn't holding my mouth, so I started screaming, I was too far gone to care about my parent…he'd made a cut on most of my limbs and they were burning…I thought I was going to die…my parents burst into the room."

Now Sasuke started breathing much harder and Naruto had to pull him into a tight hug and strain to hear what was being said against his chest. Sasuke continued in a small voice. "My parents…they saw and they got scared…he was heir perfect son…they let him continue. Mom let me stay in bed the next day, but that was it. So now that they knew, I was helpless…Itachi told me that everyone I told would react like them…that I was his little brother and I belonged to him…but he still continued being the best brother I had when it was daytime and not just in front of people but generally."

"At night…it got worse…now it started getting…_sexual_…he started touching me…the first time it wasn't bad, but a few days later, he started to get me…" Sasuke's voice came out ashamed and embarrassed. "…_hard_…and then started to jerk me off…he'd humiliate me as I came…I thought I'd go crazy…I loved my brother, but the hatred I felt for him was so intense at those times…he didn't stop at that…he never ever entered me, but he did everything but that…the last few times before…well…he fisted me…I used to bleed down there…it became so bad that I had to stop going to school for a while…but he never let up."

"He made the penetration so bad, he slid his fingers in dry…and he used salt just to hurt me more…then finally my principal called…he wanted o complain about my not attending and that he was worried about me. My parents finally stood up to him and refused to let him into my room. We thought he'd backed down…but then I heard two gunshots…I remember I ran out of my room to see my parents in the corridor, blood pouring out of the big holes in their foreheads…I looked up and I thought Itachi would want to kill me, but he came right up to me and cupped my face in his hand…"

A single tear trailed down Naruto's chest where Sasuke's face was huddled, but the boy got himself under control. He backed up and looked Naruto in the eyes…his eyes so troubled and filled with grief. "He said 'I'm so sorry, Sasuke…I shouldn't have taken it out on you…' and then he kissed me. He said 'I love you…' and then…then he shot himself. In front of me…I saw his blood spatter on the walls as he crumpled in front of me…no one knows this part…I didn't tell the police what had been going on…I didn't tell them anything…but I was so withdrawn that I got shunted from house to house…once people found out about my past...not this but how my brother had shot my parents and himself they didn't want me anymore…"

Sasuke turned on to his back and stared at the ceiling. "Yeah…that's it. That's the story…"

Naruto said nothing. He just grabbed Sasuke and hugged him really tight. Sasuke returned it and he was grateful Naruto hadn't said anything…in something like this; he wondered what one could really say…

* * *

**A/N: wow…this took really long…anyway I hope you like it. It was bitch to write and I hadn't a clue of how to write the lemon…I'm suddenly off writing lemons now and so it was sooo difficult…so yeah. But I want to say that if this lemon was disjointed I wanted it to me…like crazy sex that no one has any clue what they're doing…which was what made it hard to write. **

**Thanks for reading.**

**Please encourage me and review!**

**Taka**


	14. Bleeding

**Chapter 14:**

Naruto was tense. Really tense, tension had just filled him all the way up to his forehead; with that little bit more to go. He tried to concentrate on whisking the eggs perfectly for the cake he was making. He'd finally called Kakashi and invited him to dinner. Now he just had to make a few really delicious dishes and break the news about witness protection to them. Something that he was not looking forward to in the least.

He kept his gaze on his right hand, which deftly whisked the egg yolk, before deeming it perfect and adding it to the butter and egg mixture. So far in the past one and half days, he'd heard nothing from Orochimaru, which actually made him worried, he'd been sure the man would try to call him by now to threaten him or something of the sort. Orochimaru was the kind of man who loved inspiring fear and mentally fucking with his enemies for a while before he made his move. The blond added the first spoon of flour to the batter and mixed it...but where was he to begin? A few scenarios all ending with Sasuke or Kakashi injured sprung up in his head and he shook it to clear those thoughts.

Damn it. This wasn't the time for this. This was the time to concentrate on his perfect raspberry sponge cake...he had no way out anyway, he had to tell them today. He'd left the list of precious people and acquaintances with Asuma, leaving the officer to give them the heads up. He was grateful that Asuma had plain-clothes cops watching the house, and that they didn't hang around enough for Sasuke to notice anything different.

Both the males would be here soon, so Naruto stopped thinking and just got on with the food. It was simple, creamy chicken kebabs, mutton curry and rice and raspberry sponge cake for dessert. He loved cooking Indian and was in the mood for some really spicy food. Hopefully it would choke him and get him out of this mess.

Then he went upstairs and got on a nice blue shirt and some jeans. Then he quickly laid the table and then went over to the couch. He flopped on it and turned on the TV, watching a cooking contest series for a while. The front door opened and Sasuke came in, his uniformed all ruffled and his hair in a mess. He blinked when he saw the table setting and smelled the amazing scent of yummy food. He glanced at the blond.

"Are we supposed to be having another date that I didn't know about?"

Naruto grinned even though it looked a little fake. "Nope. Sorry. Kakashi is coming over for dinner, so run up and get dressed in something better."

Sasuke wrinkled his nose. "I have to dress up for Kakashi?" then his eyes widened a little... "Naruto this isn't like some meet the parent thing right? Like me getting dressed up so you can break the news about us to Kakashi while lulling him into a false sense of security?"

Naruto shook his head, though that was what he had planned for _both_ of them. It took about half an hour for Sasuke to get dressed. He came down the stairs looking amazing in a black shirt with white stripes and nice black jeans. His looking so good turned into a slight frolic on the couch, so Kakashi basically walked in on them looking a bit red, trying to get their hair in order. They blushed a bit more under his raised eyebrow and then scuttled to get his bags and get him seated.

Once they were all seated, Kakashi smiled and folded his hands together, surprising the other two and began to say grace. "Thank you for our food O' Lord and thank you for the love that fills us all. Please lord, teach the young to use protection. Amen"

The other two sputtered at him once this was done and the dysfunctional family got down to dinner. It didn't escape Sasuke's notice that Naruto was lost elsewhere as he ate. So Naruto was lost in space and Sasuke was lost in Naruto...leaving it up to Kakashi to find an effective way of dragging them out of it.

"So, Naruto...care to tell me why you wanted me to pack most of my clothes and belongings and come here?"

The blond choked a little and Sasuke thumped him on the back all the while looking at him with a small frown. "You asked Kakashi to move in with us, dobe?"

Naruto could see the suspicious expressions flit across their faces and sighed. He had wanted to do this after a good dinner and while lounging on the couch. He took another bite and chewed slowly aware of the tense silence and then put his fork down.

"You guys better finish chewing...I don't want either f you to choke and die..." he began. After they set their forks down too, he continued. "Two days ago, Konoha police contacted me in the morning to let me know that Orochimaru has escaped from prison."

A thud sounded, as Kakashi violently hit the table, making the dishes rattle. "WHAT?"

Naruto's blue eyes looked at him seriously. "They haven't been able to find him, but he mentioned me a lot during his term and they think he's out to get me. So they want to move me and everyone important to me into witness protection."

Sasuke looked at him in shock. "They want to move us out? To where? If they don't catch him he'll still be loose...he can still find us...what about my friends?"

Naruto sighed and looked at him in concern. "I don't know. I gave Officer Asuma a list of people to protect, and they should be able to protect them. This house is being watched right now and tomorrow early morning they move us. I tried to convince him to let me stay but the police think we all have to move, which is what we will be doing tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning! But...Naruto...I want to say goodbye, we need to pack, there's so much to do..." Sasuke looked torn between feeling concern for his boyfriend and leaving with no word to his friends.

"I'm sorry. You and Kakashi are the most important things to me, and Orochimaru wouldn't hesitate to hurt you if it came down to that. The police don't want to let it come down to that and I agree. I'm really sorry." Naruto hid his head in his hands.

Kakashi, who'd been silent all this while, put an arm around his shoulder. "It's not up to you Naruto. And it is a good idea to go along with what the police say, it's better to let them do their job than to stand in their way."

Naruto nodded, then he turned to Sasuke. "You cannot tell your friends or say goodbye. None of us are allowed to. I hate doing this to you now, when you've finally found a bunch that cares about you, but it'll put them and you in danger."

Sasuke stood up and moved his chair away. "I'm sorry but I need sometime alone..."

"Sasuke..."

Kakashi grabbed Naruto's shoulder. "Let him go...it's come as a shock to everyone and you've had sometime to get used to it. He'll be fine. Now has Orochimaru contacted you?"

Naruto shook his head. "But they still want me to go along with this witness protection thing..."

"Of course they do. Look when you see it logically, it makes sense. It's for our protection. Look you just worry about getting out of here and leave the policing up to the police. You're only twenty..."

Naruto played with his fork, pushing the food around on his plate...he needed something to do, so that he wouldn't dwell too much on the problem. "You're right...fine, so its settled. Let's clear up and get to bed, ok? I have to go up to Sasuke or he'll brood away the entire time."

Kakashi looked at him seriously. "So you're together now?"

Naruto smiled at him and nodded. "Yeah... I know you'll lecture me, but it was inevitable and I don't intend to let anyone else find out. At least not for the next two years."

Kakashi shrugged. "If you're happy that's enough. By the way Naruto was Iruka on your list?"

Naruto looked up with a tiny frown, as he cleared away the extra food. "Yes, I did. They might even consider him for the witness protection because I mentioned your relationship to him."

Kakashi sighed. "Good. To set the record straight, there is no 'relationship'. He hasn't called me since that night..."

Naruto looked up at his guardian, from where he was bending down to arrange food in the fridge. "Why not?"

"I don't remember…but he hasn't taken any of my calls or answered any of my messages." Kakashi sighed. "It would be so much easier if I could just remember what it was that I said to upset him…"

Naruto smiled. "Well since you guys are going to be forced to spend time together, you might just get your chance to find out." He cleared away the last of the dishes and loaded them up. "Well, I had better get going and see if Sasuke is ok. I've given him enough alone time."

Kakashi nodded. "But I still don't forgive you for springing it on us I like this….I for one was expecting much more pleasant news, like a holiday to the Bahamas or something…."

Naruto snorted. "Keep wishing, with Sasuke in school and my uni, I don't think we'll be going anywhere for a while, I'm so glad it's my last year though. Goodnight, Kakashi…"

Kakashi followed him up the stairs before moving off to his bedroom. Naruto walked into his room, to see Sasuke curled up on his bed. He sighed and shucked his clothes off before settling down to curl around the boy.

"Sasuke…"

"I wish he'd stayed in jail…"

"So do I…"

"I don't want you to be in danger; I don't want to just leave without a word to anyone…." Sasuke sighed. "You have no idea how much they've helped by just being around…"

"I wish I could let you stay…"

"This is awful…I choose you Naruto, you know I'll follow you anywhere, but I don't want to have to make this choice…not that I have one…" he added as an after thought.

Naruto drew him closer in his arms. "I'm really sorry, Sasuke…but I promise…I promise I won't just let it go on and on."

At that Sasuke turned around to look into his lover's eyes. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Naruto bent down and took his lips, trying to distract him from that line of thought. After a bit of a struggle, it seemed to work, as Sasuke got hotter and bothered by his ministrations.

[Lemon]

Sasuke didn't want to part when Naruto pulled off his shirt, but he had to breathe at some point. He'd actually forgotten to breathe during the kiss. Naruto smirked at him before running his large hands all over Sasuke's delectable body. Then he smiled and took a nipple into his mouth. "You know Sasuke, the whole day I've wanted to feel your cock buried inside me..."

Sasuke moaned and tried not to hump the yummy body next to his. Naruto was suddenly taking so much initiative in pleasuring Sasuke and Sasuke liked it. Naruto's hands roamed his body while his mouth assaulted the sweet pink nipples. "N...Naruto..."

"I wanted to just impale myself upon you the moment you walked in," Naruto rubbed his crotch against the younger man's. "Mmm...maybe I should just hump you into cumming?"

Sasuke wriggled a bit, trying to get his hands onto his boyfriend. He threaded his fingers through Naruto's hair and pulled him up for a kiss, while trying to mould their bodies together. Maybe if he pressed himself against Naruto hard enough, his cock would somehow slip into his guardian? He sighed into the kiss, and let go off Naruto's head to let his lips latch onto the tan neck, moving towards the shoulder before choosing a spot that would be covered up to leave the gift of a large hickey.

The blond moaned and bucked up, his hips thrusting into Sasuke's powerfully. "Nnn...Sasuke...Sasuke...more..."

The dark haired seme smirked around the nice red mark and then slipped downwards, leaving a trail of kiss marks against the body that finally was his. He dipped his tongue into Naruto's belly button a few times, before moving lower...he followed the happy trail and then bypassed to it lick and suck at those caramel thighs.

Naruto's hand landed on his head and tried to get bossy, pulling his hair in an attempt to yank him up to the rather impressive erection. It thwapped Sasuke on the head a bit, but the boy remained down there, teasing...he moved to Naruto's balls then suckling them and rubbing his nose against them.

"Sasuke please..."

"Please, what, dobe?"

"God...do something, put your mouth there...or fuck me, please just do something that results in me screaming..." *pant... pant* "...your name as I come..."

"You can be such a slutty thing, dobe..." Sasuke moved up to take the head of Naruto's cock into his mouth. He sucked erratically, not really sticking to any particular pace, while his hand groped for the lube on the dresser at an awkward angle. Finally locating it, he swiped his tongue up the shaft, from bottom to top, before grabbing the base with one hand and moving his mouth in time with his hand. In his other hand, he managed to open the tube and smear a large amount onto his dobe's hole.

They both couldn't really wait much, the whole idea of things being completely different tomorrow, gave this a new meaning. And true to what Naruto had said Sasuke couldn't wait to pound into the blond and make him scream.

He shoved a finger into that tight pucker, moving it in and out while trying to find the right spot. He hooked it and Naruto shifted a little. A little more stimulation and the blond was panting, his face flushed and eyes half lidded as he watched Sasuke.

When the second finger was added, Naruto whimpered, trying to get more of it, he almost gagged Sasuke while trying. Sasuke's hand on the base of his cock tightened, it would be awful if Naruto came now...Sasuke wanted them to come together.

Once he was done stretching the man, he smeared his cock and tugged on it a bit. Then he lined it up with Naruto and thrust in. The blond was really tight and it took a while for Sasuke to enter him fully. He waited, breathing deeply for Naruto to adjust, but the moment the blond nodded assent, Sasuke was off, thrusting fast and hard. He yanked Naruto's left leg onto his shoulder and straddled the other to get better leverage. Naruto was making loud noises at every thrust.

"Yes! That's it...right there...ahhh...Sasuke...I love you...Sasuke..."

Sasuke was close; he grabbed Naruto's cock and started stroking him in time to the thrusts. A few minutes later, he didn't know what hit him as he was plummeted into pleasure. Somewhere along the line he realised that Naruto had screamed his name too, they collapsed onto the bed, holding each other tightly. Sasuke pulled out and rolled onto his side. He felt really tired. Naruto nuzzled him.

[lemon ends]

"It'll be ok Sasuke...I promise."

Covering them up, Naruto gazed at the ceiling in the dark. Tomorrow he would go on the stupid protection program and after that who could tell what life would be like. Hell, from what he'd heard, until Orochimaru got caught they could just end up moving from place to place. It wasn't a life he wanted for Sasuke…or for Kakashi.

* * *

Sasuke helped load the bags into the plain black SUV the police had sent. It was a nice vehicle, but it looked like anything anyone on the road might have….a good normal family vehicle. Watson was at Hana's. Finally having loaded up, he leaned against the car and looked up at the window, it was Naruto's room. The blond was on the phone, frowning as he talked. Sasuke frowned too, who the hell would be calling Naruto at five in the morning?

He couldn't make out much more than Naruto's expressions, which slowly went from angry to horrified and back to angry. Then the blond just hung up and pocketed the phone, before disappearing from view. He reappeared a while later, with a smile on his face and all traces of the earlier phone call, gone.

Sasuke opened his mouth to ask about it, but they all heard hurried footsteps. The two plain clothes policemen, Anko and Aoba straightened, their hands moving into their jackets ready to draw their weapons.

It turned out to be Iruka. Naruto swooped down on the man and caught him up in a hug. "I'm glad you're ok. Thank you for not refusing this and agreeing to come along. It cuts down my worry quite a bit."

Iruka smiled at him warmly. "It's going to be fine Naruto. Don't worry too much. They'll catch him!"

Naruto's smile slipped and was caught put back on again so quickly, that Sasuke almost missed it. He was worried now, his boyfriend was acting extremely weird and it bothered Sasuke. It could just be the strain of all of this, but it didn't seem to be just that.

They all got into the car after loading up Iruka's luggage and then set off. They were going to be putting all them in one house in River country first, and then depending on how long it took to catch Orochimaru, making their new identities permanent. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

Naruto talked about many things non stop for the first hour of the journey. The place was about five hours away from Konoha, so it was to be a long journey. Everyone assumed that the blond was trying to keep the mood as normal as possible.

After a while it got really quiet in the car. Naruto sighed, and looked out. The scenery was beautiful, but he couldn't enjoy it, not when he was the reason everyone was leaving their lives behind. He needed to go to the toilet..NOW.

"I need to go!"

Anko grimaced and looked at him. "Can't you hold on?"

He shook his head. "It's the BIG job! And I need to stretch my legs and all too. We're all ready two hours away, so you know could we stop? Please...I think something didn't agree with me last night."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He watched as Anko struggled about it and then nodded. "There's a restroom coming up. They have a gas station, fast food joint and everything."

They stopped and walked to the fast food joint. Naruto cried off, professing his need to go to the toilet first. Aoba, said he'd go with him and wait outside just in case. Sasuke waited in line for a long while, finally getting his order of sausages, they'd split up so they could all get their food and Kakashi and Iruka were already sitting at the table with steaming boxes of pancakes. He sat down beside them, wondering how much longer he had to wait...

* * *

Naruto was glad when he saw the size of the windows in this toilet. He looked at his phone for a moment as it buzzed, and flipped it open to read the message. Grimacing slightly, he pulled out another smaller phone he'd brought; he quickly replaced the sim cards on the phones. Then he set his original phone down on the toilet lid in the cubicle, playing the sound of him humming, and groaning as if he was really on the toilet. Then he stepped onto the pot and clambered out of the toilet, and ran towards a blue car parked behind the building.

"Sasori..."

The red headed man inside nodded. "Are you sure about this?"

Naruto nodded. "You owe me one remember? You said _anything _I wanted."

Sasori nodded with a large sigh. "Gosh if they find out I helped, then I am going to be in so much shit. Get in and hunker down."

Naruto slipped in and hunkered down, his head between his knees. He thanked the gods he was so flexible. _Sasuke..._ the name flitted through his head and he clamped down on the guilt he was feeling. _I'm sorry Sasuke...but this is the only way to stop, you might as well kick my ass later..._

Sasori passed Aoba waiting by the bathroom entrance looking at his watch with an annoyed expression. They drove back down to the highway and headed back to Konoha.

* * *

Sasuke was staring at the table wondering what he could order for Naruto, that wouldn't give the blonde a relapse, when Aoba burst in looking like death. Sasuke scowled it had been forty-five minutes and there seemed to be no blond head or blinding grin behind Aoba as there should be.

"He's gone..."

"WHAT?" Anko looked up at him with a frown.

"Naruto...he's not there! I could hear him muttering and calling out that he would be 'just a second', I finally got mad and went in and found that there were no feet in the stall." Aoba explained hurriedly, it was easy to see his brain trying to work. "I broke down the door and saw this." He held up the phone. "He'd recorded himself on it!"

Everyone in the room went some shade of white. Sasuke's heart suddenly tightened unbearably... _"I'm really sorry, Sasuke…but I promise…I promise I won't just let it go on and on."_ That complete idiot! Sasuke knew the blond had decided to go back, there wasn't any other possible way to stop all of this, without him actually facing Orochimaru.

First Sasuke felt hurt, pain and fear. Now fear dominated his mind. Naruto was going back to face a killer...the man who killed his father, who had ruined his whole life... and Sasuke was stuck here unable to do a thing. Naruto had left him with four people who would refuse to let him do something stupid. Sasuke forced himself to breathe and pay attention to everything around him. There had to be a way he could get to Naruto.

"Where do you think he's gone?"

"Maybe Kakashi's farm?"

"Maybe the house?" that was Kakashi... Sasuke knew the man was thinking along the same lines as him.

"Why would he go back there? We still have cops watching the place...if he goes back there, he's safe..."

Sasuke frowned. Well cops were good at their job, but hadn't this whole thing with Orochimaru seemed so simple? His escape, the way no one could find him, the way they had to put everyone under witness protection and why had Naruto suddenly gone haring off? Wait...that phone call...everything clicked into place. Naruto's broodiness, the phone call and Naruto going back.

Sasuke looked out of the window as the adults talked. Someone on a motorbike was riding into the parking lot...a hint of desperation pushed him. He looked from the cops and the two adults to the door. He was really close to the door, if he slipped out quietly, no one would notice...? Maybe...but it was worth a shot.

Sasuke edged towards the door and slowly slid out when another bunch of people came in. The moment he was out the door, he took off towards the biker who had just slowed down. Roughly he shoved the man off the bike. Catching the bike, pulled at his arms a little, he silently thanked Karin for all the workouts at the gym. He clambered on just as he heard shouts behind him and revved up. He almost hit a car as he sped out of the lot, gaining more grace and balance as he hit the road.

_I'm coming Naruto...don't you dare get into shit without me!_

* * *

Naruto got Sasori to let him off a block away from his house. He'd pulled on a hat and sunglasses; luckily it was a bright day, so it wouldn't look too out of place. Then he started quickly walking around the neighbour's house. Sure enough, a plain clothes cop stood in his backyard. Naruto walked up to him with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Bee, it's me!"

The cop turned around and frowned. "Naruto, what are you..." a quick punch cut him off. Before he could retaliate, Naruto flew forward and hit him with a rock he'd picked up. It was crude, but he was as gentle as he could be and it worked. He went through the man's belongings, picking up whatever he thought he'd need. Then he took another look around...from what he remembered, Asuma was going to place four guards around the house and they would patrol the perimeter in an inconspicuous way. He wondered if he'd get caught.

He made his way into the house, only to find a man sprawled out on the ground. Seems his worries were needless; Orochimaru had already taken care of one more. He made his way from the kitchen into the living room...moving quietly. Seeing no one there, he went up the stairs and to Sasuke's room.

Orochimaru sat there, toying with Sasuke's notebook, idly flipping the pages. He looked up his snake-like eyes narrowing, full of hate as he took in the blond young man who stood before him. The expression changed to that of glee. "Naruto..."

Naruto's face was tight, the muscles in his jaw twitching. "Orochimaru..."

Orochimaru put the notebook down and gestured towards the window, "Over here, Naruto...in case someone notices that your here, I'd like you to be between me and the window."

Naruto obliged. He stood there silently staring at the man who had ruined his life in just a few hours. "Why don't you just finish me off?"

The snake-like man smiled. "Do you want to die so badly? I've been looking around your house for a while now...I've familiarized myself with the way these cops move...they've been watching your house for the past few days...they'd gotten complacent." Orochimaru reached out to pick up a picture frame. "Your ward and your dog...but it seems like he's more than a ward...do you really want to die?"

"Isn't that what you want? Isn't this whole charade and luring me here all because you want to kill me?"

The man walked up to Naruto and cupped his cheek. "Why, whatever gave you that idea? I have plans for you, dear one...you singlehandedly got me arrested and ruined everything. What makes you think that I would simply give you a quick death? I might just keep you and then hunt out your ward...kill him in front of you maybe?"

That was it...Naruto suddenly flew at the man, knocking him down, trying to grab the gun he'd stuck into his jeans at the back, hidden under his loose shirt. He grabbed it and levelled it at Orochimaru.

The man smirked. "Are you going to kill me, Naruto? Haven't you had enough of killing? After all you did kill your parents didn't you? How much more blood do you want on your hands?"

Naruto began to shake slowly. He tried to concentrate on the gun, but the words were getting to him..._No...Don't zone out now..._

Orochimaru moved quickly. He knocked the gun away and punched Naruto off him. They both lunged for each, holding each other, grappling for the gun. Orochimaru kicked the boy hard in the stomach and reached for the gun...Naruto grabbed his knees and tried to hold him back. Orochimaru grabbed the gun, his eyes lighting up in triumph as he kicked Naruto in the face, hard.

* * *

Sasuke made it to the house and jumped off the bike. He made a dash for the back door, as someone grabbed him around the middle trying to tackle him. Going to the gym had paid off, Sasuke wasn't very light and he was able to fling the man onto the ground, before jumping over him into the house. He could hear some yelling outside, the other cops would be trying to follow him in. He hoped it hadn't alerted Orochimaru...

He burst into his room and saw his boyfriend on the ground with another man, trying to reach for a gun. Neither of them noticed Sasuke standing there. Orochimaru got the gun, kicking Naruto at the same time. Sasuke moved quickly kicking the gun out of the snake man's grasp just as it went off. Naruto keeled over with a groan, red blooming on his shirt.

Before Sasuke could process that Naruto had been shot, Orochimaru leaped to his feet with a howl, and grabbed Sasuke by the neck. For a thin man, he was pretty strong. He lifted Sasuke up by the neck, his elbows making sure none of Sasuke's blows got anywhere near him, his eyes frenzied as he tried to strangle the younger boy. Sasuke struggled, trying to kick out or poke the man in the eye, but he was slammed against the wall so hard, that his vision blanked out for a second. He tried desperately to get some air into his lungs...this time his vision was blacking out due to the lack of air.

Naruto grabbed the wound, trying to stem the blood. He could feel it pooling around his hands, but then what happened? He looked up to see Sasuke going blue as the murderer strangled him. Naruto cried out, his hands going for the gun again, when there was a loud bang and blood splattered everywhere.

Naruto blinked, trying to gather his senses, wondering where all the blood came from. Asuma and Kakashi stood at the door, a gun in Kakashi's hand. Sasuke was slumped on the floor, coughing and gasping air into his lungs.

Kakashi hurried over to him, helping him sit up, and shoving Orochimaru's body out of the way. Asuma came over to Naruto and started making a quick tourniquet for the wound. "Damned stupid idea! What made you think to come back here? I didn't have many cops watching the place because I thought you'd be safe and they could watch your other friends...we would have gotten him, if you'd let him wait it out..."

Naruto shook his head blearily. His voice came out garbled. "I want'd it to end...if he wath dead or I wath dead, then it would just thtop...Thathuke..."

Asuma sighed. "Sasuke's going to be fine, son...let's just get you cleaned up...no...Naruto...don't pass out..."

Sasuke looked up in shock... "Naruto...Naruto..."

* * *

A/N: Well sorry it's been so long...I've gone through a break up, an years study abroad, confusion about myself and have finally finished this chapter. The next part will be the epilogue. Then it's over! Thanks for still being there for me!

Taka


	15. Reuniting

**A/N: Ok last chapter…unbeta-ed so please forgive any mistakes and errors! **

Chapter 15:

Four Years Later:

"Hn, I'll take that one." He nodded to the saleswoman. The watch was really beautiful, he was sure that it would do. As the gift was wrapped up, he turned around and looked through a selection of jewellery. Choosing another gift, he pointed it out to another saleswoman and indicated that he'd like it packed.

Walking over to the cash counter, he paid and then moved towards the cloakroom. Collecting his coat and his luggage, he hailed a cab. "Kusagakure Airport please." He sighed and looked at the scenery outside the window. After a while he checked his itinerary again and checked to make sure he hadn't missed his plane.

After depositing his entire luggage at the check in, he shouldered his laptop bag and found a spot to sit down at. Pulling out a Moleskine note pad, he quickly penned down the start of a poem running through his head. Then he thought about his family. He hadn't seen them in ages. He wondered if they'd like everything he'd gotten them.

He chewed on his pen until his plane was called. The ride home was uneventful, unless you counted the kid kicking his seat, which had basically booted him out of his writer's block...literally. He'd watched a movie and tried to sleep off most of the journey so he'd be a bit fresher when he got home. The poem had come out really nice too.

Konohagakure airport was bedecked in Christmas decorations. Soft strains of 'Itsuka no Merry Christmas' by B'z played in the background. He smiled a little glad that he didn't have to go through the immigration line, which looked huge. He headed out and saw a shock of white hair. Smiling, he quickened his pace.

"Kakashi..."

Kakashi smiled and grabbed him in a hug. "Good thing you're flight was on time...a little later and you might not have been able to land because of fog. So did you have a good time?"

"I had an awesome time! But I was really looking forward to coming home...is Iruka cooking?"

"Yes he is..." Kakashi's face turned a bit sad. "Na, Sasuke...I wish I could have some of Naruto's food though..."

Sasuke sighed and looked away. "Yeah..."

"Did you miss him a lot?"

Sasuke nodded. He frowned wanting to change the subject. "Well, I got one of my stories published last week. I have a copy for you to read..."

"I'd love to read that..."

The rest of the ride was spent in a similar way, the two just catching up. They reached Kakashi and Iruka's condo in record time thanks to Kakashi's reckless driving. Some delicious smells floated by as soon as Kakashi unlocked the door, reminding Sasuke of when he used to live with Naruto, with the blond cooking for him every day.

The house was littered with pictures of all four of them from all those times when he was in high school. Sasuke sighed...he wanted Naruto. Home still felt wrong without him in it. He jogged up to the room Kakashi had set aside for him and put his luggage down. He quickly unpacked and pulled out the presents he'd gotten them. For Iruka, he'd gotten a pretty watch and for Kakashi one of those Kusagakure water pipes to smoke for fun. He fingered the little jewellery box he'd gotten and then pocketed it.

"Merry Christmas!" he greeted the other two and quickly deposited the boxes in their hands. Then he walked to the den where a really nice picture of Naruto was... "Merry Christmas..." He placed the jewellery box in front of it. "I wish you were here so I could give it you..."

Kakashi watched him from the doorway looking worried. He glanced at Iruka. "It's been four years Iruka..."

Iruka nodded. "Sasuke-kun will move on if he wants to Kakashi...you can't force him..."

Kakashi frowned. "But Naruto's clearly not coming back..."

Iruka shushed him as Sasuke turned. "Come on, Sasuke...lunch is ready..."

* * *

It was almost three in the morning when the three of them finally went up to bed. Sasuke threw himself onto the bed and sighed. He was never able to forget Naruto...he'd tried dating a few others in between and he's always broken up with them right after the first date...if only...

He heard a car and then the slamming of doors. He paid it no mind, returning to his musings, when the doorbell rang. Sasuke got up knowing that it would take the other two sometime to get their clothes on. Grumbling in a low voice about visitors this late at night, he opened the door and found himself looking into achingly familiar blue eyes.

"Dobe..."

"Sasuke..." Naruto scratched his head. "I didn't think...realise...I mean...why aren't you at Uni?"

"I wanted to spend Christmas with my family..." Sasuke found that his voice had gotten sharp. "I thought you said you weren't coming back..."

Naruto fidgeted, one monster rucksack on the ground beside him. "I changed my mind. Thought I could come see Kakashi and Iruka for a few days..."

Sasuke nodded and started walking off to his bedroom. Naruto followed him in, manhandling his bag and kicking the door shut behind him. Kakashi and Iruka came in and stopped dead.

"Naruto?"

"Hey guys..." The blond looked at them a bit sheepishly.

The two elders greeted him like nothing was amiss, even though they had slight looks of wonder at the fact that the blond came back at all. For Sasuke though it was another feeling altogether. He felt relief that Naruto could come back, but when you'd resigned yourself to having small hopes of meeting, (which you anyway told yourself would never materialize) it was kind of hard seeing them come true.

Sasuke turned on his heel and stalked upstairs to his room. Getting back into bed he tried to force himself to sleep. But there was still that small bubble of joy buried under all the anger, frothing happily at the thought that Naruto was back.

Downstairs, Naruto found himself looking at the departing Sasuke, feeling hurt. He knew it was his fault, though at the time he had believed that this was for the best. He smiled and chatted with the other two as he was led up to the guest bedroom. He had glanced at the closed door of what he assumed to be Sasuke's room, before following them into the opposite room.

"We thought you meant it when you said that you weren't coming back..." Iruka shrugged apologetically. "So we really didn't keep a room for you...sorry."

"No, it's ok. I didn't think things would get sorted out this quickly myself." Naruto smiled reassuringly. "So...I'm sorry for turning up this late, but the plane only got in now...I made a spontaneous decision."

"Nah..." Kakashi sighed looking a little relieved. "We're glad you came. We'll talk to you in the morning?"

Naruto nodded and got into bed tossing and turning. He thought back to when he'd left. Sasuke's face full of shock, disappointment and hurt when he gazed at the empty bed at the hospital was all he remembered. Sometimes he wondered why he'd made the decision to go in the first place…

* * *

He woke up to white walls and the strong smell of antiseptic. Hospital. Someone was holding his hand. He turned to see Sasuke looking down at him with worried dark eyes. It was the red marks against his pale lover's neck that jolted him back to his senses. "Sasuke…" his voice came out in a croak.

"I'm fine Naruto. How do _you_ feel?" Sasuke squeezed his hand. "You got shot…luckily the bullet only grazed your shoulder…you'll have a scar. You passed out due to blood loss..."

Naruto was silent for a few minutes, as the pictures flashed through his mind. His shoulder was now aching like the devil. He nodded and put a smile on his face. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Sasuke nodded and then suddenly glared. "If you weren't hurt right now, I would seriously punch the lights out of you. Do you have _any_ idea how stupid you were? If I hadn't come in you'd be dead!"

Naruto looked away. "I just wanted to end it all…so we could come back and live in our house, you could be with your friends and everything would be ok."

Sasuke sighed and bent down to kiss his forehead (after looking around to see if anyone else was there or watching.). "You're an idiot. I value you much more than the life I had with my friends ok?"

Naruto nodded. "But he's finally gone…no more hiding or running away right?" He stopped and motioned for some water. After a few sips, he turned to Sasuke and smiled. "You are happy now aren't you?"

Sasuke frowned. "That he's gone? Yes. That the witness protection is over? Yes. But I could do without you being in hospital for it, ok?"

Naruto nodded, he was feeling a little sleepy. Sasuke suddenly leaned over him and gently covered him up. "Sleep now. I'll be right here…" But he wasn't.

When Naruto woke up, he woke up to a grave faced Asuma. The cop informed him that he'd sent Sasuke out to get something to eat. "Actually, I did it so I could talk to you about something important. I need you to listen to me carefully. I don't think you should be leaving witness protection…"

Naruto sat up hurriedly…or tried to and failed miserably. "Why?" the word tore itself out of his mouth.

"Seems Orochimaru contacted one of his followers, before he came to see you…now that word's out about his death…" Asuma sighed. "Look, Naruto…Sasuke's graduating this year. He'll probably find a good university and leave Konoha. I'm almost one hundred percent sure that Orochimaru's gang doesn't know about Sasuke. From the information I have, we can assume that they only know about you. So if you stay in witness protection, we can protect everyone else pretty easily."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Well can't you use this 'source' of information to root this gang out? I thought it would end with Orochimaru's death….what good are you people if you can't even let me lead a safe life without having to _hide_…I refuse. I handled it this time and I can handle it again…"

Asuma's mouth tightened. "This time you put yourself and your _lover_ in danger…" when Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, Asuma nodded angrily. "You thought I didn't know? I did and I only turned a blind eye to it because I don't have any solid evidence. But I'm warning you now, Naruto…if you won't let me protect you, I have no qualms about putting you behind bars for having sexual relations with a minor who was under your protection. At least I can protect you better if you're in jail…so your choice…jail or witness protection?"

Naruto felt sick. He looked at Asuma pleadingly. "I'm not a paedophile…I love him…please…don't make me do this…"

Asuma shook his head. "Look just because you got lucky this time…actually I wouldn't say _lucky_ since you're in here and your lover almost got strangled… it doesn't mean it's going to happen that way again. You blatantly put my men in danger and assaulted an officer, to mete out your own sense of what was right…I'm sorry but this time I want to do my job. I have to protect you all and Sasuke will have it better without you compromising his safety. This is only until we round up the gang…just a year or two…"

Naruto hung his head. He thought hard for a while, but couldn't find a way to refute Asuma's words…Sasuke…he bit his lip. "Fine. Witness protection then. But…I don't want to let Sasuke, Kakashi or Iruka know…just tell them I left…tell them I'm not coming back…don't give them any reasons…" _A clean cut…that way Sasuke will move on and forget…he can hate me…_hurt clawed at him.

The next two days he spent at the hospital went by like a flash. He spent every minute with Sasuke, thirstily memorizing the boy's face, touch and voice, like traveller stuck at the only puddle in a desert.

In the middle of the night before he got discharged, Asuma moved him to another ward when Sasuke had been ushered out due to visiting hours. He could easily see into his old ward out of the window. Some of the cops helped him dye his hair and gave him the rest of his disguise. So he could easily watch Sasuke's reaction to the empty ward and Asuma's short explanation that Naruto had decided to leave and was not coming back. Asuma had insisted on filling in Kakashi on the true details…so only the two adults really knew why Naruto had left. Then he'd been quickly ushered out of there, eyes brimming with tears and a voice in his head telling him he'd made a very stupid decision.

* * *

Naruto rolled over and hugged his pillow. It hadn't taken just an year or two…it had taken three years to round up the gang and another year to convince Naruto that maybe he should make an appearance to his family, now that things were cleared up. He'd thought Sasuke would have gone off to Uni and moved on completely. He'd thought that Sasuke would have broken ties with Iruka and Kakashi…well he'd been wrong. But in all honesty, deep within, Naruto knew he'd really been hoping that he'd be wrong. _Well I got my wish didn't I?_

He finally fell asleep only to wake up by eight in the morning. Damn…four hours of sleep wasn't nearly enough after that bloody long trip, but he couldn't get back to sleep no matter how hard he tried. He headed downstairs.

Iruka was sitting at the kitchen counter on a bar stool, his hands wrapped around a mug full of warm coffee, while Kakashi was breaking eggs into a bowl. As soon as he saw Naruto the silver haired man smiled and thrust the bowl out. "Here, make us a few of your amazing French omelettes…"

Naruto shook his head as he took the bowl. "I just got back and already you want me slaving away at the stove…so fill me in on all that's been going on…"

Iruka smiled. "Nothing really…I'm still teaching at the university and Kakashi…well he's lazing around here or running his farm all day. You know that Sasuke has one last semester to finish college, he chose to study Publishing and all the biggest companies want him. He was also considering moving back to Konoha…"

Naruto scratched his head. "Ano…well…I'm back for good…" that was the only way he could think of putting it…though he had no idea how it would be taken.

By the time the couple could react a deep voice sounded across the room. "What?"

Sasuke stood there in a rumpled t-shirt and boxer shorts. Naruto couldn't help his eyes roaming appreciatively over his once-lover's form. Sasuke noticed and glared the usual Uchiha glare. "You're back for _good_? Wait a minute…I thought you said you weren't coming back for good…so how long does this 'good' last? Another four years? Eight? How long do you mean by _good_, Naruto? How long before you decide that you can just up and go with no explanations to _anyone_?"

Naruto flipped the omelette expertly and concentrated on plating for a bit. Then he gathered his thoughts and looked at Sasuke square in the eye. "Well, I don't have any more reasons to run…so I guess I mean good…as in as long as I'm alive, I'll call this home, kind of good."

Sasuke glared at him for a bit before walking up and swiping the plate with the omelette on it. He might be furious with the chef, but who was he to give up a perfectly good omelette? He took a bite and almost moaned at its perfection, oblivious to the other three's flabbergasted stares. "So? What _were_ your reasons?"

With the two beautiful dark eyes pinned him to the spot, Naruto had no option but to tell the truth. So he began from Asuma's visit all the way down to what happened the night before, while making more omelettes since Kakashi kept prodding him with a finger when he forgot about the food.

Sasuke scraped up the bits on his plate with his fork and turned the glare on the elders. "You _knew_?"

Iruka sighed. "Yes we did. Kakashi just thought it might be easier for you to move on, if you had some reason to hate Naruto. We didn't know if he was ever coming back and it didn't seem fair to tell you and make you hope…"

The plate hit the counter quite hard, but didn't shatter. Sasuke seemed to be snarling a little. "But I hoped anyway…I hoped, I wondered and I agonised over why he would do that! If I had known, I'm guessing it would have been the same maybe without the pain of being _dumped_ for no fault of mine…I don't believe this…" he whirled around and ran up the stairs. He came down again with pants on and was out of the door soon after, slamming it behind him.

* * *

They had been tiptoeing around each other for days now. He had spent all his time either in his room or outside, partying. So Sasuke hadn't seen Naruto or Kakashi for our whole week. Iruka had brought him a few meals but he preferred to stay in his room. It annoyed him that Naruto hadn't yet made an attempt to come and see him. Sasuke frowned and decided that he'd had enough.

He pulled on a tight black wife beater and pulled on his leather jacket. Deciding that blue jeans would do just fine, he gave himself a once over in his mirror. He added just a touch of eye-liner and grumbled at the fact that it was always he, who had to make the first move. Peeking into Naruto's room he took in the blond's attire. Naruto was wearing a red silk shirt and tight black jeans; he looked like he'd just gotten back from Kiba's party. Sasuke smiled after which his face took on a look of utter determination.

He barged into the room and caught the blond by his arm. Naruto started and then spluttered as he was unceremoniously dragged out of his room. He was already in Sasuke's…well Kakashi's car to be precise, before he managed to say something… "Sasuke?"

"What dobe?" Sasuke's voice seemed to warn the blond to proceed cautiously.

"What's going on?"

Sasuke grit his teeth. "I've had enough of this bullshit. For today we are going to pretend that you never went anywhere these last four years. We are _going_ to have a good time. Understand?"

Naruto looked a little flabbergasted. "Why? I thought you didn't…"

"I don't need you to _think_…just do as I say…" He glanced at his blond and took in the peeved look beginning to form on his face. "_Please_?"

Naruto nodded and looked out the window for a few minutes. Then his hand slid onto Sasuke's thigh. The brunette swore as he swerved a little. "Dobe?"

Naruto grinned. "Well, if I didn't go anywhere, then this is probably what I would do with you looking so _hot_…"

Sasuke snorted and shoved his hand away. "Shut up and let me drive, dobe…we're almost there…I don't want any accidents before we get there…"

"Where is there?" but question was deemed redundant, when Sasuke drew up to the hangar. Naruto blinked, it was where they taken the plane for their first date. Sasuke turned the ignition off and got out. He paused to look at Naruto and raised an eyebrow. "You coming?"

Naruto got out and followed him into the hangar. Sasuke took the keys to a micro-light and this time, _Sasuke_ flew the plane. The blond frowned. "Sasuke…"

"What? I have a licensed teacher with me…and I have a learner's permit. Don't worry I will not crash this thing…" seeing more questions looming on the older man's face, Sasuke sighed. "What happened to pretending you never left? Anyway, I just took proper classes last year so I wouldn't forget…"

Naruto sighed, frustrated. He didn't say anything for the remainder of the journey. They landed on the same table like hill they'd been to four years ago. This time though, Naruto spotted what seemed like a medium sized wooden cottage off to one side.

Sasuke landed expertly. Then he got out and motioned towards the cottage. A few cars were parked outside and now Naruto realised that there seemed to be music blaring from the inside. He followed Sasuke to the door. The young raven turned to him with smile. "Welcome to my house…"

Naruto's jaw dropped. "What?"

Sasuke ignored him and went in, dragging the blond along. A loud cheer went up when Naruto entered. There were a lot of people greeting Sasuke, Naruto noticed that so many people looked happy to see the raven there. And Sasuke…unlike before where Sasuke had improved his relations with his little group, he interacted easily and confidently with this crowd of peers.

All the time he was watching Sasuke, Naruto didn't realise a bit group was watching him. Gaara, his siblings, Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo were all looking at him with some surprise and relief. Finally it took Suigetsu thumping Naruto on the back to get his mind of Sasuke. He greeted the old group and felt waves of nostalgia. A little later, Sasuke grabbed his hand. "Let's dance…"

The song G6 had always turned Naruto on like crazy. But dancing so close to Sasuke in this mad crush of moving bodies, was another thing all together. Sasuke was a little taller now and as they ground together, Naruto felt like he was going to spontaneously combust from the lust building up inside him. Sasuke smirked at him and grabbed his ass, bringing their cocks together with a particularly hard grind.

"You know what, Naruto?" Sasuke's deep whisper sent shivers down Naruto's back. Naruto mumbled an incoherent "hm?" Sasuke grinned and squeezed that ass. "I've always wanted to do this with you…show people who this ass belongs to. Unfortunately, keeping that secret made it hard…"

Then Sasuke turned Naruto around and rubbed his dick against his ass. "I also wanted to turn you on like crazy on the dance floor…do you know why?"

"Why?"

"So I can grab your hand and take you to a private room like this…" and Sasuke proceeded to do just that. He led Naruto into a small bedroom and locked the door behind them.

He then shoved Naruto onto the bed. But didn't follow him onto it. He just stood there and looked at the blond. "Naruto…" once he was sure he'd gotten the other's attention, he started. "I want you. But I need to know if we can go back to being a couple…"

Naruto turned away. "Haven't I hurt you enough?"

Sasuke moved forward and grabbed his shirt. "Yes, yes you have! But for once I want you to stop thinking about the past and tell me what we're going to do In the future. I'm no longer you're ward…no one can hold that over you anymore. You hurt me, but you can decide not to, now. Damn it, dobe…I'm sick of always have to make the first move…for once can't you just show me what you feel? I'm sick of being in love with you and having to chase you all the time…damn it…why can't you jus take the fucking initiative to…"

**Lemon**

A pair of warm lips cut him off. They kissed like a hurricane, tongues battling, lips sliding and sucking against each other. Naruto slid his tongue against Sasuke's trying to taste more of what he'd dreamed of all these years. How the fuck had he given this up? Somehow kissing to Taio Cruz's Dirty Picture, made the whole thing more erotic.

His hands slid up Sasuke's shirt, feeling the hard six pack and defined muscles. The boy had definitely grown, the muscles that Sasuke had just started working on back then, now rippled and flexed under his touch. Naruto almost came in his pants right then. The younger man growled, his hand tangled in the blond hair, slanting his head more, so his tongue could really plunder that rosy mouth.

Naruto mewled, his hands tightening on Sasuke waist, if Sasuke was an incubus, right now Naruto would have given the man every ounce of energy he had in him. Sasuke's other hand ran up and down his back in random patterns. They were getting familiar with each other all over again, it felt almost a little like they were strangers, but that added to the crackling chemistry between them.

Finally Sasuke pulled away to shrug out of his jacket.

Naruto tugged at his wife beater, pulling it off.

Sasuke ripped the dobe's red silk shirt open, scattering the buttons everywhere.

They came together again, their lips meshing together, their cocks grinding each other through the rough denim jeans. Naruto had forgotten how warm Sasuke could be, he pressed himself against the younger man, wanting to merge with that lovely warm heat emanating from that pale pale skin.

Sasuke groaned deep and hard…reaching for the button of Naruto's jeans. His yanked the zipper down and shoved his hands into the tight jeans, cupping Naruto's bare bottom and squeezing. Then he shoved the pants down, pulling out a little to let the blond's erection pop out painlessly as the clothing went by. He followed the jeans, only to engulf Naruto's cock with is mouth. He sucked hard at first and then backed off to make eye contact with the blue depths watching him…then he smirked before pressing his lips against the head hard, like a French kiss, his tongue playing with its slit, while his eyes tangled with his lover's.

Naruto gave a strangled cry, as his head _popped_ into Sasuke's mouth and dragged itself against his head. Then Sasuke deep throated him just for a bit, before pulling back and then licking all the way down to his balls before taking _both_ into his mouth and sucking hard. Naruto's hands fisted in his hair, pulling rather hard. Sasuke ignored it, to dip his head even further below and lick at the place just behind his balls.

Naruto felt his brains turning to mush as the blow jobs went on and on. The raven alternated between hard and soft. Finally Sasuke wrapped a hand around the base and started bobbing up and down; exactly the way Naruto liked it. His orgasm built up in him, coiling, tight, about to burst and the heat was…gone.

He stared woozily as Sasuke stripped down to his boxers. Then the raven smiled. "Do you want to see what else has changed, dobe?"

Naruto swallowed and nodded wordlessly. The younger gave a small sexy grin and slipped out of his boxers. Sasuke had…grown. Naruto gulped as he took in the bigger, thick shaft, red with all the blood rushing down there…beads of precum dripped from it. Sasuke's hand came down to caress it and play with it a little…Naruto felt himself drool.

Sasuke tugged at it and stroked it a few times. His voice was deep velvet. "You seem to like what you see dobe…but don't worry, I'll use shove this in you and fill your pert little ass with it…you'd better be as tight as you used to be…"

The command had a profound effect on Naruto. He stuttered before bursting out with "I've been celibate until now! Please…fuck me Sasuke…"

The raven titled his head a little and then came forward to kiss the blond deeply. His hand rummaged around for something in drawer by the bedside and then suddenly Naruto heard a clicking noise. Soon something cool was being working into the skin at his hole. When two fingers slipped in, stretching him, prepping him, he whimpered a little from the burn.

Sasuke sighed. "Damn you're tight…it's like I'm taking your ass virginity again…but this time I'll go harder and much much deeper…"

Naruto shuddered and began to fuck the fingers in him. Sasuke growled and pulled Naruto closer to him, grinding his rock hard cock against the other a little. Then he stopped and lubed himself, placing his head against the whole. Slowly he filled the love of his life.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto let himself adjust to the huge length in him…fuck, Sasuke was right, it was going much deeper. The raven shifted a bit earning a moan from the man under him. "_Move…_" the strain in Naruto's voice was evident. Sasuke complied, first going slowly and then suddenly changing pace and moving much faster.

The bed began to creak rhythmically and Naruto found the music and voices from outside fade out as the cock in him pounded his prostate. He forgot all about keeping silent and let a scream ricochet off the walls. Sasuke smiled and grunted with the effort. Things began to start blurring for him too, the emotional response to this getting too intense. He grabbed Naruto's cock and began stroking in time to his thrusts.

With a final cry of "Sasuke!" Naruto coated their bodies with white cum…he squeezed down hard on Sasuke before passing out, making the brunette follow him into heaven. Sasuke panted for a while before collapsing on top of his lover.

**Lemon end**

* * *

Sasuke looked at the blond as they drove home. "So no running away again?"

Naruto smiled. "I promise…plus…with you having grown up _that_ well, there's no way I'm going to ever find anyone good enough!" His eyes twinkled mischievously.

Sasuke smirked. "I'm glad you feel that way dobe, though I hope that isn't your only reason for staying…" he parked.

Naruto smiled at him and drew him into a soft kiss. "I love you, teme…" the soft kiss turned into a good lust addled one.

A tapping on their window knocked them out of it. A half naked Kakashi stood there grinning. "Glad to see you boys back together…but do you mind driving out again? I was enjoying my alone time with Iruka…"

Naruto looked at Sasuke in disgust. "Wanna move back into the old house?"

**THE END**

**A/N: Yup….weird I know…but I did not want the usual epilogue…I don't think things could have been sorted that easily, which was why I gave them the four year gap. Tell me how you thought it was, I thought it made a good stand alone fic! Missed you guys….please review now that it's ended with comments and criticism, but no flames please!**

**It's finally over!**

**Love **

**Taka**


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